The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Jeane Freeman MSP, gave a statement and answered questions from MSPs on Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Ms Freeman highlighted the importance of governance arrangements. And Ms Freeman said that infection prevention and control measures will be strengthened further at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow. 

An expert assessment of infection prevention and control in the clinical environment will be carried out. The findings of the independent assessment will be reported directly to the Scottish Government Oversight Board established following NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde being raised to Stage 4 of the NHS Board Performance Escalation Framework in relation to infection prevention and control and communication and engagement with patients and families.

Responding, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh said:

Serious failings at hospitals in Scotland and the UK in recent years have highlighted the need for quality governance in healthcare, with patient-centred decision making at its heart. In Scotland, this is an area where we’d like to see the Scottish Government play a leading role, working with NHS Boards and clinicians to develop more meaningful performance indicators in relation to the quality of care. We welcome steps to introduce an Oversight Board of governance arrangements in the NHS and would encourage it to interact with clinicians at all levels.  

We have established through our independent Quality Governance Collaborative that at NHS Board level, strong leadership and communication is essential, along with learning from past mistakes and initiatives to improve working culture. On the latter, we are encouraged that the Scottish Government is taking steps to establish an independent Whistleblowing Officer for Scotland.

Paul Gillen

Contact: Paul Gillen p.gillen@rcpe.ac.uk 0131 247 3658