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You say that the guidance will contain some information about how the Care Inspectorate will be involved if a review is in place. How will that process work?

Good morning. I have some questions around the review process. Regulation 6 requires a care home provider, on receipt of a valid request, to review a decision. Concerns have been raised with us about that. One is about whether there could be proactive rather than reactive reviews. Another concerns the fact that there is no judicial appeal route. Has there been any consideration of that?

That is appreciated.

A concern has been raised about the requirement for review requests to be submitted in writing. I just want to be sure about accessibility, because some people may have family members who cannot go down that route.

That is helpful. I appreciate that we need a record, but, particularly in those circumstances, there may be people who need a certain level of support to put something in writing.

—about how we discuss these matters and ensure that we can do so like adults.

Today, we are seeking clarity on the safety of the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. Public trust and confidence in our NHS should always be a top priority—without it, we risk undermining the very foundations of our health service.

I thank all the hard-working and dedicated staff who deliver safe and effective care across Scotland each and every day. Staff are the backbone of our NHS, and I am grateful for all that they do in caring for our families, friends and loved ones. Let us be clear: the issues that we are discussing today are not an attack on those who deliver care. Rather, this debate highlights the failures in governance systems and structures, because what happened at the hospital is a scandal.

Again, I put on record my deepest condolences and sympathies to the patients, families and staff who were ignored and betrayed. Hospitals are supposed to help people to get better, not make them sicker, and no one should worry that hospitals and healthcare facilities are not safe.

The truth is that the Queen Elizabeth university hospital opened before it was ready, and it opened with contaminated water. The risk of waterborne infection was foreseeable, and issues were raised, but they were not acted on. Those who raised concerns were belittled, silenced and threatened, and whistleblowing procedures were not followed. The health board failed to admit serious errors in judgment and withheld the truth from patients and families.

NHS staff deserve to work in an environment in which their concerns are listened to and addressed, particularly when patient safety is a concern. However, on this Government’s watch, that did not happen.

What happened at the hospital was a monumental failure—it was a failure in safety, a failure in leadership and a failure in accountability. Of course, we cannot rewrite the errors of the past, but we must do everything possible to ensure that patients are kept safe and that past mistakes are never repeated. We must ensure that those who are affected by the contaminated water are told the truth, and we must ensure that steps are taken to reassure patients that the hospital is safe.

The establishment of the safety and public confidence oversight group is welcome, and action must be taken to boost the public’s confidence in the hospital. The oversight group cannot be another tick-box exercise—it must lead to tangible and meaningful change for patients, families and staff.

While we wait for the oversight group to begin its reporting, which could take months, the public need to be reassured now. We do not need an oversight group to tell us whether every ward and unit in the hospital has been fully validated; the Government could give us that information today. We do not need an oversight group to tell us what immediate steps are being taken to address issues with whistleblowing, which the Patient Safety Commissioner has identified as a system-wide issue. Finally, we do not need an oversight group to tell us how the Scottish Government will ensure full transparency over hospital safety concerns in the future.

I recognise the work that the group has been set up to do, but the Government has the power to reassure patients now. The public want to know whether each area of the hospital has been fully validated, including water and ventilation systems, whether that has been independently verified and, if so, whether that information will be published.

Until those questions are answered and patients and staff are satisfied, Parliament cannot be satisfied. It is our job to speak up for our constituents and scrutinise this failing Government. Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour are doing just that.

15:24

The Government has provided no extra funding to IJBs to support any of that work.

The minister knows that that is the proper procedure to allow me to discuss such matters and bring to the attention of the Parliament issues from trade unions, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and local government. If you cared at all, you would be prepared to talk properly—

Today, we are seeking clarity on the safety of the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. Public trust and confidence in our NHS should always be a top priority—without it, we risk undermining the very foundations of our health service.

I thank all the hard-working and dedicated staff who deliver safe and effective care across Scotland each and every day. Staff are the backbone of our NHS, and I am grateful for all that they do in caring for our families, friends and loved ones. Let us be clear: the issues that we are discussing today are not an attack on those who deliver care. Rather, this debate highlights the failures in governance systems and structures, because what happened at the hospital is a scandal.

Again, I put on record my deepest condolences and sympathies to the patients, families and staff who were ignored and betrayed. Hospitals are supposed to help people to get better, not make them sicker, and no one should worry that hospitals and healthcare facilities are not safe.

The truth is that the Queen Elizabeth university hospital opened before it was ready, and it opened with contaminated water. The risk of waterborne infection was foreseeable, and issues were raised, but they were not acted on. Those who raised concerns were belittled, silenced and threatened, and whistleblowing procedures were not followed. The health board failed to admit serious errors in judgment and withheld the truth from patients and families.

NHS staff deserve to work in an environment in which their concerns are listened to and addressed, particularly when patient safety is a concern. However, on this Government’s watch, that did not happen.

What happened at the hospital was a monumental failure—it was a failure in safety, a failure in leadership and a failure in accountability. Of course, we cannot rewrite the errors of the past, but we must do everything possible to ensure that patients are kept safe and that past mistakes are never repeated. We must ensure that those who are affected by the contaminated water are told the truth, and we must ensure that steps are taken to reassure patients that the hospital is safe.

The establishment of the safety and public confidence oversight group is welcome, and action must be taken to boost the public’s confidence in the hospital. The oversight group cannot be another tick-box exercise—it must lead to tangible and meaningful change for patients, families and staff.

While we wait for the oversight group to begin its reporting, which could take months, the public need to be reassured now. We do not need an oversight group to tell us whether every ward and unit in the hospital has been fully validated; the Government could give us that information today. We do not need an oversight group to tell us what immediate steps are being taken to address issues with whistleblowing, which the Patient Safety Commissioner has identified as a system-wide issue. Finally, we do not need an oversight group to tell us how the Scottish Government will ensure full transparency over hospital safety concerns in the future.

I recognise the work that the group has been set up to do, but the Government has the power to reassure patients now. The public want to know whether each area of the hospital has been fully validated, including water and ventilation systems, whether that has been independently verified and, if so, whether that information will be published.

Until those questions are answered and patients and staff are satisfied, Parliament cannot be satisfied. It is our job to speak up for our constituents and scrutinise this failing Government. Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour are doing just that.

15:24

—about how we discuss these matters and ensure that we can do so like adults.

The Government has provided no extra funding to IJBs to support any of that work.

The minister knows that that is the proper procedure to allow me to discuss such matters and bring to the attention of the Parliament issues from trade unions, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and local government. If you cared at all, you would be prepared to talk properly—