The BBC’s bad treatment of NHS Scotland

When a parent loses a child it is an unbearable tragedy, and I want to preface this blog piece with the important caveat that I in no way wish to cast any aspersions on the bereaved and fully support their drive to uncover the truth about what went on at the new Southern General Hospital in Glasgow in order that they can find a modicum of closure on events which ripped the heart and soul from their families.

However I do think it’s important to talk about the way in which the story about deaths and sickness caused by bacterial infection in the hospital ventilation system has been framed and presented by the Scottish and British media, particularly BBC Scotland, as it is being politicised in a way that simply does not happen when the BBC reports on failures in the NHS in England and Wales.

In recent weeks the Scottish media has been dominated by the story of the scandal of patient deaths in Glasgow’s new Southern General hospital, officially the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, a name I and many other Glaswegians refuse to recognise. News reports on BBC Scotland have presented the Labour party take on this story, up to and including accusations from Anas Sarwar that former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and current First Minister John Swinney may be criminally responsible for the problems in the hospital’s ventilation system which led to the deaths of two child cancer patients and debilitating infections in many more patients.

In Scotland, uniquely, the framing of such stories is that which is presented by the anti-independence parties opposed to the Scottish Government and the Scottish Government is invariably portrayed as the party directly responsible for the failure. This is in stark contrast to how similar stories are reported when the failures occur in an NHS hospital in England or Wales where those which the BBC holds to account and from whom explanations are demanded are the relevant NHS boards and NHS managers, never the Welsh Health Minister or the Secretary of State for health when the issue concerns an English hospital, far less is the Prime Minister ever directly implicated. In these stories, the BBC does not adopt the framing which is promoted by opposition parties seeking to capitalise on the issue, indeed it rarely if ever seeks the opinion of an opposition politician.

As far as the Glasgow hospital scandal is concerned, the only ones not being scrutinised over the new Southern General are the ones who constructed it, signed it off at every stage as good to go and meeting all the relevant health and safety standards. These generally aren’t politicians. Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney are not qualified installers of heating and ventilation systems.

Also conveniently overlooked by BBC Scotland is the uncomfortable fact that the Labour party was in control of both Glasgow City Council and Inverclyde Council, and was the largest party in Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, and West Dunbartonshire when hospital opened. These are the councils covered by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board which is responsible for the management of the hospital. A number of Labour councillors were on the board of NHSGGC at the time the hospital was opened, and when the board allegedly took the decision to cover up problems in the new hospital. It is all but certain that a majority of the councillors sitting on the board at the time were Labour party representatives.

If, as Anas Sarwar is alleging, an allegation which has been amplified and platformed by BBC Scotland, the health board came under undue pressure from the Scottish Government to open despite concerns about the safety of patients, staff, and visitors, these Labour councillors have had over ten years to go on the record. In addition, the Clerk of Works of Glasgow City Council, which was Labour controlled at the time, should have signed off on completion of build before it was handed over. If he or she had concerns about public safety, the works would not have been signed off and the council informed.

None of this is how similar stories elsewhere in the UK are covered by the BBC.

A case in point is a very similar scandal concerning Papworth Hospital in Cambridge where nine patients fell ill and three died due to bacterial infection in the hospital’s water supply. In August 2025 the hospital trust paid a six figure amount in compensation to patients affected by the outbreak. A link to the BBC report is here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm21xrm5dyzo

The lack of politicisation in the BBC’s reporting of the story is evident. No politicians are quoted, nowhere is there any attempt to permit opposition parties to frame the story, no accusations or allegations are levelled at health ministers in the UK Government who are ultimately responsible for the NHS in England as ministers in the Scottish Government are ultimately responsible for NHS Scotland.

The BBC report is here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr28p1yxgqo

In December last year there were issues with the water supply and sewage leaked into a waiting room in the biggest hospital in Wales. A report from the online Welsh newspaper Wales online is here:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/wales-biggest-hospital-loses-running-33019475

BBC Wales does not appear to have covered the story at all but in the Wales Online report only the health board is pressed for answers about the problems.

A similar framing is evident in a BBC report from 2022 about University Hospital Wales in Cardiff, which Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said in 2019 was no longer fit for purpose. BBC Wales reported that the Welsh government had announced an additional £2m to upgrade emergency department waiting areas over the winter.

An unannounced Healthcare Inspectorate of Wales inspection took place between 20 and 22 June 2022 and said the “dignity and safety” of patients was compromised on a daily basis. In the BBC report, the Welsh Government is portrayed as trying to find a solution to problems which are the responsibility of the health board, government ministers are not accused and alleged to be personally accountable, as is typical in BBC Scotland reporting of similar issues. You can read the report from BBC Wales here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-63214751

The same pattern is evident in the report of a former nurse in Wrexham who died of asbestos exposure at the hospital where she worked. No politicians are interviewed or quoted, no attempt is made to assert responsibility on the part of the Welsh Government.

The BBC Wales report is here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8qd4018pgo

Earlier this month the BBC reported on failings in maternity care in Nottingham University Hospitals Trust. Now Nottinghamshire Police have launched an investigation into possible corporate manslaughter relating to the deaths of mothers and infants in the hospital. This is a serious case involving around 2500 deaths, stillbirths, and harm to mothers and babies dating back to 2012. Again in the BBC report there is no opposition party framing, and no accusations of blame or responsibility are laid at the door of Health ministers in the British Government. Had this appalling scandal taken place in Scotland there can be no doubt that BBC Scotland would hold Scottish ministers primarily responsible. The BBC report is here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c338r3v6z5zo

A very clear pattern is evident here. In Scotland the BBC acts as a vehicle for opposition party attacks on the Scottish Government when covering stories relating to problems and scandals in the NHS in a way it does not in England and Wales. BBC Scotland is very quick to platform and promote Labour party framing of such stories and to politicise them in a manner which is beneficial to the Labour party in Scotland. It’s not just that an election is in the offing, this is a long standing pattern. The BBC is not an impartial reporter on Scottish politics, it is an active participant on the side of parties opposed to Scottish independence.

I am considering starting a new premium subscription service to the blog. All blog articles will continue to be freely available to everyone, as now, but should there be sufficient interest I am thinking of sending out an additional premium subscriber only email piece once per week to everyone who pays a regular monthly subscription fee of £5. Everyone who currently makes a regular monthly PayPal donation to the blog would automatically be added to the premium email list. Please let me know in the comments if you’d be interested. I intend to go ahead with this in the new year but am having trouble collating a list of the emails of everyone who currently supports the blog monthly.

______________________________________________

I’ve added a new method to make supporting my work easier, you can now donate via Ko-fi

Or click the following link https://ko-fi.com/weegingerdug

Having abandoned Twitter I will be actively posting on BlueSky from now on. You can find me at https://bsky.app/profile/weegingerdug.bsky.social follow me there and I will generally follow back.

Source