The devastating story of Molly Cuddihy's battle with a bacterial infection at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital has finally led to a long-awaited admission of guilt. After years of denial, the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has acknowledged that serious infections in 84 child cancer patients, including two fatalities, were likely caused by a contaminated water system at their flagship hospital. This admission comes as a relief to patients, families, and whistleblowers who had been raising concerns since the hospital's opening in 2015. However, the delay in accepting responsibility has caused further distress and harm to already suffering families, as Molly Cuddihy never got to hear the truth about her tragic experience.
Molly's story began when she was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer at the age of 15 while preparing for her National 5 exams. She was treated at the Royal Hospital for Children and the adjacent QEUH, which are part of a six-year public inquiry that reached its final stages this week. Her father, John, described the clinical care she received as "world-class," but highlighted the absence of basic principles to ensure a safe and secure environment for the clinicians.
The health board's admission of guilt comes after years of denial and a series of shocking revelations. They admitted that the building was not ready for opening in April 2015, just before the general election, and that pressure was applied to meet the deadline despite tests in December 2014 revealing microbial contamination in the water supply. The board also acknowledged the lack of adequate staffing to maintain the sprawling new campus.
The families affected by this scandal have been left reeling by the health board's dramatic U-turns. They have described being "lied to, disbelieved, demeaned, and smeared" by the health board, and some have spoken out for the first time about the inadequate answers they received regarding their children's treatment. The level of deceit and cowardice displayed by the GGCH has been described as appalling, with families being told there was "nothing to see here" as their loved ones fell ill and died.
The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has called this the "biggest scandal in the history of the Scottish parliament." He has suggested that the cover-up goes right to the top and has called for criminal investigations into Scottish government ministers responsible at the time, including Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney. Sarwar has campaigned for years alongside Kimberly Darroch, whose daughter, Milly Main, died in 2017 after contracting an infection during her recovery from leukaemia treatment.
As the inquiry's final report is anticipated later this year, other proceedings will continue. The NHSGCC has been named as a suspect in a corporate homicide investigation into the deaths of Milly and two other children and a 73-year-old woman at the hospital campus, while prosecutors are also investigating Molly's death. The families have demanded that the leadership of GGCH face a reckoning and that the QEUH is recognized as an unsafe hospital.
The health board has insisted that no individual should be held responsible for institutional failings, but the families and whistleblowers remain concerned about the extent of necessary changes implemented by senior management. The three senior microbiologists who tried to expose the failings have pointed out that the health board's belated and partial apology does not address the behavior of senior management, who dismissed their concerns as "attention-seeking" and "sensationalizing."
John Cuddihy, Molly's father, emphasizes the importance of tangible outcomes and the need for the Scottish government to step in to ensure that this never happens again. He believes that Molly's message, which was read out at her funeral, was that the clinicians treated her with respect, but the institution failed to recognize her as an individual. This realization was the most hurtful for Molly, and she did not seek to apportion blame to any one individual but wanted recognition of what had happened to enable meaningful change.
