Milly Main's mother says public inquiry must 'uncover truth'

The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died at Glasgow's flagship hospital has said a public inquiry must "uncover the truth" about her death.

Milly Main died after contracting an infection at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus in 2017.

The public inquiry, due to begin on Monday, will examine issues there and at the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh.

Milly's death is currently being investigated by prosecutors.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde passed details of its investigation into her death to the procurator fiscal in February.

"We welcome the forthcoming public inquiry and are committed to participating fully in that process," the health board said in a statement.

Milly was being treated at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, which is part of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus (QEUH).

Kimberly Darroch believes her daughter's death was due to contaminated water at the hospital, but says the family are still "in the dark".

Milly had leukaemia from the age of five, but was in remission before contracting the infection at the QEUH.

She died in August 2017, with her death certificate listing a stenotrophomonas infection of the Hickman line - a catheter used to administer drugs - as a cause of death.

The family say they were not told about the link to contaminated water problems at the hospital.

Ms Darroch, 36, from Lanark, said: "Nearly three years since Milly died, we feel the heart-breaking loss of our daughter every day and feel we're still in the dark about her death.

"Having been let down by the health board, we hope the public inquiry will uncover the truth about what happened at the hospital - not just for us but for all the families affected, and to ensure no other family ever has to go through what we went through."

Labour MSP for Glasgow Anas Sarwar said families must be at the heart of the investigation.

He said: "There is a huge amount of pressure on this public inquiry, which must deliver answers for parents, patients and the public.

"The catastrophic failures at the QEUH, and the associated problems with the Sick Kids in Edinburgh, are a national tragedy."

Mr Sarwar said there had been a loss of public trust over the issues and the "success or failure" of the inquiry depended on "getting answers for Milly's parents and all the families affected".

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We are truly sorry that we have not been able to provide Milly's family with satisfactory responses to the questions that remain unanswered for them and recognise the additional distress this has resulted in."

An independent review by Health Protection Scotland into the water supply confirmed contamination of the system in 2018.