Families of children who died at £1bn superhospital to quit inquiry

•  Family groups involved in latest stage of inquiry say it was conducted in an 'insensitive' way
• Inquiry was set up to explore whether problems with construction of Glasgow hospital led to environmental infections

Furious patients, their families and parents of children treated at Scotland’s crisis-hit hospitals are considering staging a walkout from an inquiry into their care, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Dozens of families have been called to give evidence to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, which is probing NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s superhospital, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH), and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh.

The inquiry is looking to determine whether problems with the construction of the £842 million Glasgow superhospital led to environmental infections.

Among the parents in the family groups is Kimberly Darroch, mother of ten-year-old Milly Main, who contracted an infection and died at the QEUH.

Charmaine Lacock, whose daughter Paige Rawson was treated for leukaemia, has also given her testimony.

The flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow has been best by a raft of problems

Kimberly Darroch and her daughter Milly Main, who died at the age of ten after contracting an infection in the hospital

But last night insiders said there were ‘rumblings of discontent’ in family groups involved in the most recent stage of the inquiry over the ‘dismissive’ and insensitive way it was being conducted.

Now the future of Lord Brodie’s inquiry hangs in the balance as families ‘consider all their options’ – including, according to one insider – staging a walkout.

One source told The Scottish Mail on Sunday: ‘There have been rumblings of discontent at various stages.

There has been a feeling among some of the patients that the chair was giving them a particularly hard time for reasons no one could fathom.

‘Just the tone and body language was seen by some as really dismissive. The patients who made these observations... are considering their options in that respect.’

They added: ‘They feel marginalised.’ Last night Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said the ‘families have faced barriers at every step of the journey’.

She added: ‘This inquiry wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for the bravery of families and whistleblowers, and it’s vital that they are at the heart of the process and have confidence in it.

‘Families rightly expect this to move quicker, and we also need to see a full culture change across Scotland’s NHS so that doctors and clinicians are listened to and patients are put first.’

The inquiry was ordered by former SNP health secretary Jeane Freeman in 2019 after a number of patients’ families raised safety concerns.

Chaired by Lord Brodie, it promised to shine a light on issues relating to ventilation and water contamination at the sites, but it also pledged – after some pushback from patient groups – to specifically explore how the buildings and their construction affected patient safety and care.

The insider said: ‘It struck us, in terms of the “terms of reference”, that the drafts were more akin to the trams inquiry – they were very much about bricks and mortar.

‘We sent a pretty robust submission saying, “Where are the people, why is this only about bricks and mortar, where are all the patients and the victims and the families in all this?”

‘So the terms of reference significantly changed to claim to have the patients at the heart of the inquiry.’

The insider added: ‘There have certainly been occasions where that is what they’ve felt, but there have equally been occasions where that same feeling isn’t quite there, especially recently.’

A spokeswoman for the inquiry said: ‘The inquiry continues to be mindful of patients and families and grateful for their evidence.

‘We have not been made aware of any of these concerns.’

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