Hospital Inquiry hears health boss tried to stop whistleblower

The boss of Scotland's biggest health board tried to persuade a top doctor not to blow the whistle about patient safety concerns, a public inquiry has heard.

Dr Penelope Redding, a former clinical director at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC), claimed the board's chief executive Jane Grant "urged me not to do it".

Dr Redding was one of a number senior doctors who raised infection control concerns at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow.

In a submission to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, Dr Redding claimed there was a "profound culture of fear and bullying" at the board which put more people off speaking out.

The inquiry is investigating the construction of the £870m QEUH campus in Glasgow, which includes the Royal Hospital for Children.

It was set up after a number of patient deaths including that of 10-year-old cancer patient Milly Main.

Dr Redding worked as an infection control doctor until 2008. She was involved in the preliminary planning for the QEUH, which opened in 2015, and was a whistleblower before she stepped down as a consultant microbiologist in 2018.

In evidence to the hearing, the retired doctor criticised "a culture of not putting things in writing, in emails, not putting things in minutes, an atmosphere of intimidation and bullying" within the NHS. She said she only felt comfortable speaking out as she was approaching retirement.

A spokesperson for NHS GGC said: "The current Scottish Hospitals Inquiry hearings have yet to hear from various key staff. A number of staff being mentioned during these hearings will also provide evidence and will endeavour to support the Inquiry to fully establish the facts."

Read more about the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry on the hub.

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Source: BBC News, 4 September 2024