JOHN Swinney was blasted for overseeing a “rotten culture of cover up” at Scotland’s largest health boards following a scathing report found a breakdown in staff relations were putting patients at risk.
The report into NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was raised by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar at First Minister’s Questions today, who said it showed patients were being put at risk by a “failing health board” backed by Nats ministers.
John Swinney has been accused of overseeing a “rotten culture of cover up” at Scotland’s largest health board[/caption]
A damning new report has revealed concerns over patient care and staff-management relations at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde[/caption]
Issues were also raised in the Healthcare Improvement Scotland review over “ambulance stacking” at QEUH in Glasgow[/caption]
Anas Sarwar said patients were being out at risk by the “failing health board”[/caption]
The MSP raised the infection scandal at the hospital which sparked a public inquiry and the fact it was investigated for alleged corporate homicide linked to the tragic death of 10-year-old Milly Main at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Mr Sarwar said SNP chiefs had failed to tackle a “rotten and at times fatal culture” at the health board.
He said: “I’ve been raising concerns for years with successive SNP Health Secretaries and First Ministers but here we are again.
“This is just the latest report after 29 doctors raised concerns almost two years ago and it exposes serious issues around the culture of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
“Patient safety compromised, staff ignored, bullied and silenced. and when they blow the whistle the management deny their claims, intimidate them and attempt a cover-up.
“After years of warnings and hollow claims of lessons learned why is this SNP Government allowing this rotten and at time fatal culture to continue?”
But Nats ministers’ response to problems at NHS GGC was defended by Mr Swinney who said the findings were “unacceptable”.
He said: “Let me use this platform to make it abundantly clear to every health board in the country that the culture that is referred to by Healthcare Improvement Scotland is completely and utterly unacceptable.
And hitting out at the “unacceptable normalisation” that so-called corridor care – where patients are kept on beds in hospital corridors rather than rooms – raised in the report Mr Swinney insisted: “I will not tolerate that. I will not normalise corridor care.”
But Mr Sarwar hit back and said: “Patients are still being put at risk by a failing health board that’s been empowered time and time again by this SNP Government.
“It appears this SNP Government is more interested in protecting managers and institutions rather than protecting patients and staff.”
The First Minister responded: “I don’t accept that characterisation of the approach of the Government because if that was the case there would not be an inquiry into the Scottish hospitals performance and there would not have been a Healthcare Improvement Scotland analysis of Greater Glasgow and Clyde.”
The review, published today, found a “serious breakdown” in relationships between workers and management at the health board, with cultures of “disrespectful behaviours, poor teamwork and incivility” at emergency departments in Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH), Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
This led to staff wellbeing being negatively impacted and patient welfare put at risk, the Healthcare Improvement Scotland report said.
It also warned of an “unacceptable normalisation” of so-called corridor care and ambulance “stacking” – where paramedics wait outside hospitals with patients due to overcrowding – were also highlighted across the health board and at QEUH’s emergency department.
Staff at QEUH blasted “significantly poor professional behaviours”, including alleged bullying, and “a lack of respect that has the potential to lead to patient harm”.
The review also described the level of stress and distress among staff at all levels in the three EDs as “palpable”.
The lengthy report made more than 40 recommendations to NHSGGC and the Scottish Government, including addressing low morale among staff and seeking external mediation to rebuild relationships between workers and management at QEUH.
An NHSGGC spokesperson said: “We take the report, and most importantly the views of our patients and staff, very seriously and want to assure our patients and staff of our commitment to improve.”
