Chief nurse's 'Disneyland' hospital scandal comment 'shameful' - Sarwar

An alleged comment made by Scotland's former chief nursing officer about families affected by a hospital infection scandal has been described as "shameful" in parliament.

Prof Fiona McQueen is said to have questioned why the local health board did not offer affected families £50,000, reportedly noting it would cover a trip to Disneyland, instead of denying that safety defects had caused harm.

A public inquiry is looking into the design and construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow following deaths linked to infections.

Prof McQueen previously said she did "not recall" making the comment and insisted her priority had been patient safety.

At First Minister's Questions, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar described the alleged comment as "shameful, utterly shameful".

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) admitted recently that problems with the hospital water system probably did cause infections in child cancer patients - having initially denied this.

Prosecutors are investigating seven deaths for potential links to the hospital environment.

Prof McQueen, who advised ministers on nursing, midwifery, and associated areas of healthcare, retired as chief nursing officer in March 2021 before taking up a role as chair of the Scottish Police Authority.

She is said to have made the comment during a meeting in December 2019 attended by then health secretary Jeane Freeman.

In evidence previously submitted to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, Dr Peters said that she had updated Prof McQueen about her concerns at the 2019 meeting.

Quoting Prof McQueen, Dr Peters told the inquiry: "At one point she said that she could not understand 'why [the health board] had not just offered the families 50 grand which is a trip to Disneyland, rather than deny that there had been harm caused".

Dr Peters said she was "appalled" by the comment.

She told the inquiry: "I thought that that missed the point, which is that there was a safety hazard that had not been dealt with and just paying people off would neither fix the hazard nor the organisation's culture in dealing with it."

She said she did recall discussing Dr Peter's concerns about the way patient complaints had been handled.

The former chief nursing officer told the inquiry: "In no way would I have sought to downplay the seriousness of the concerns conveyed by Dr Peters."

She added that her priority was "always patient safety".

Sarwar told MSPs the alleged comment was "shameful, utterly shameful".

He added: "And it should shame every member of the SNP government.

"Bribes rather than truth and justice.

"The pain this government has inflicted on these families is through the roof."

First Minister John Swinney said he was "horrified" by the suffering of bereaved families.

He said the public inquiry had been set up to "give the truth" to the families.

Swinney said he was "appalled" by Sarwar's calls for inquiry chair Lord Brodie to consider the role of the Scottish government in construction and opening of the QEUH.

The first minister accused the Labour leader of political interference and said he should be "ashamed" of his conduct.

Prof McQueen has been approached for comment.