Meeting of the Parliament 11 February 2026 [Draft]
As others have done, I start by sharing the sadness of colleagues about the death of Jeane Freeman, and I send my condolences on behalf of the Liberal Democrats. Those of us in the chamber who lived through the Covid years will remember that they were dark and difficult, but no one ever doubted Jeane’s commitment to making Scotland as safe as it could be during that time. We send our warmest thoughts to her family, her partner and her colleagues in the chamber.
The crux of this debate is the issue of trust. Do the public trust our institutions to properly investigate what went so badly wrong at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital? Do the public trust any of us here today to unearth what went wrong, or who knew what, without the usual political point scoring that normally comes with health debates? Do people out there trust that the hospitals that they attend to get better or that look after their loved ones are, ultimately, safe? Do the public trust that NHS boards, the Government and those at the very top will hold up their hands and take responsibility, so that none of this ever happens again?
Those questions are important, because those who lost loved ones were forced to campaign for answers, for the truth and for accountability. They never had the chance to grieve properly. Many of us in the chamber, including me, will have had loved ones in that hospital, and we trusted that hospital to look after them, care for them and help them to get better. For some families, their loved ones did not come out. Trust has been shattered by this scandal—“scandal” is the only word that I can find that is fitting to describe what has happened.
We often come here to criticise the Government about capital projects, but we are talking not about a delayed and overbudget ferry or prison but about a hospital. This is about lives that were lost because something somewhere went wrong. Those families deserve to know exactly what went wrong and, more important, who was responsible for it. Anything less should not and will not be tolerated by any of us.
Someone who was affected by this got in touch with me anonymously yesterday. She was treated at the hospital as a patient and has since developed numerous infections, so she still requires on-going treatment. The lady told me:
“I’m living with PTSD following the mistreatment of my care … I do not know what the future holds for me and whether the treatment by the specialists … will ultimately be successful”,
but
“I certainly do not believe is that there has been any cultural change”
in that health board.
“They are not transparent and they are evasive”.
I have not read out that quote to point fingers at individuals on the current NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde board, but it hammers home the point that the central issue of trust is at the heart of this ordeal. That constituent of mine does not trust the health board to do the right thing, and she is not alone.
We must start by addressing the most important issue: patient safety. The Scottish Government must promptly and publicly confirm the safety of every ward and unit in this hospital. I have no doubt that patients who are there now are being treated well and carefully by our amazing NHS staff, but ministers must validate that safety in public, explicitly, because the Government must restore trust in the hospital.
The reason why the safety and public confidence oversight group must not mark its own homework relates exactly to the issue of trust. Years of denial from the board have undermined the public’s trust. The board did not take people’s concerns seriously, and now, for some, it is too late.
With that in mind, we are happy to support Labour’s motion, and we thank Labour for bringing it to the chamber. We will also support the Conservative amendment. However, we will not support the Government amendment. If we want to restore public trust, we must have accountability and honesty—and that must start here in this chamber, now.