Scandal-hit hospital left children with lifelong conditions, MSPs told

Children have been left with debilitating conditions due to their treatment at a scandal-hit Glasgow hospital, their parents have told MSPs.

The Scottish government has been urged to launch a probe into concerns children treated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) are suffering from conditions including chronic stomach pain and incontinence after being given anti-infection treatments for too long.

The families claim children were given prophylactic drugs due to infection risks at the hospital, but say they have been lied to by health chiefs.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the treatment was an established method of preventing infections, and that the hospital is safe.

First Minister John Swinney's spokesman said he was looking at the issues "as a matter of urgency".

fter years of denials, the health board admitted last month that issues with its water system probably caused infections in child cancer patients at the QEUH campus, which includes the Royal Hospital for Children.

A public inquiry is looking into how design, construction, and system failures led to safety issues, and whether these problems could have been prevented.

Separately, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is looking at seven cases of patients who died, to establish if there is sufficient evidence of criminality such as corporate homicide or breaches of health and safety law.

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Source: BBC News, 26 February 2026