Public Inquiry into the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Royal Hospital for Children and Young People

That the Parliament commends patients, staff and trade unionists for raising their concerns regarding public safety as a result of the reported mismanagement of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh building projects; welcomes the Scottish Government’s decision to hold a statutory public inquiry; believes that this change of heart was as a result of sustained pressure from opposition politicians in response to the bravery of NHS whistleblowers, patients and their families; recognises the persistent campaigning of Tam Waterson, who is the Chair of Unison Scotland’s health committee, and congratulates Tam for representing the interests of his members and NHS staff and patients; notes what it understands is his frustration that no one is being held to account for the significant misuse of public money and the resulting private profit at the expense of the NHS; believes that this view is shared by the wider public; values the role that investigative journalism has played in uncovering the truth about these projects and urges NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to improve their communications with staff and the public; understands that the public inquiry will look at how defects in ventilation and other key building systems occurred and also at what steps can be taken to prevent these problems being repeated in future projects, and considers that the safety and wellbeing of patients should have been the priority from the start of both projects and that public trust must urgently be restored.