A health board boss is alleged to have referred to a “war” with the parents of children who became ill in the hospital infection scandal.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde communications director Sandra Bustillo is said to have told her staff a concerned parent may have “won the battle but won’t win the war” after he raised his concerns in the media. A whistleblower, who we have agreed not to name, claimed Bustillo made the remark on more than one occasion after Professor John Cuddihy spoke publicly about his daughter Molly’s case.
Cancer patient Molly fell ill at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus and went into septic shock – a life-threatening condition which happens when your blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level after an infection.
Molly was diagnosed with mycobacterium chelonae, an infection in her line which came from the hospital environment. The whistleblower said Bustillo’s comments highlighted the “toxic culture” which existed within the department.
Last night, Professor Cuddihy, who represents families affected by the scandal, said: “Nothing surprises me just now in relation to what I hear about Greater Glasgow and Clyde communications and their overall management structure. I would like to think they would work with parents and families in order to try and make the environment a safer place.
“It was never intended to be a battle or a war. That is their words, not mine.”
He added: “I will continue to fight for the rights of these children and I will not be deterred in any shape or form by the negative architects within Greater Glasgow and Clyde in the form of Sandra Bustillo. If they put even half as much resolve into working with
families as they do in fighting with families we would maybe make some headway.
“While the fabric of the building might improve, the culture which presides over the environment, the absolute contempt they have for the families, exudes from every pore.”
The whistleblower alleged: “Management were scared of John Cuddihy because he was a very articulate man.
“One more than one occasion, when he had given an interview, Sandra Bustillo’s words to me were, ‘They may have won the battle but they won’t win the war.’ I found that difficult and so did other members of staff. It made us gasp.
"I was too scared to say anything at the time but another member of staff told her, ‘I didn’t join the NHS to go to war with families’. We are talking about families who had been through a difficult time.”
They said they were driven out of a job they loved. They added that her view of parents was “in no way a reflection of the hospital staff or managers, who truly cared about patients and their families”.
They continued: “The irony is working for the NHS made me ill. That wasn’t the job itself, it was the toxic culture.” The whistleblower made several complaints to chief executive Jane Grant regarding their treatment by Bustillo but none was upheld.
The only part of the complaint upheld concerned the remarks relating to John Cuddihy. At the time, NHSGGC was on level
four of escalation and one of the reasons was poor communication with families. In a letter to the complainant, Grant wrote: “Ms Bustillo has acknowledged the language choice in this situation was regrettable and appreciates this was upsetting for those present.”
NHSGGC said the health board “takes our responsibility to our staff very seriously and we are dedicated to supporting them to raise issues and concerns should they need to”. It added: “We can confirm that when these allegations were raised initially, robust HR protocols were followed and a full investigation was undertaken, however, it would be inappropriate to comment further about individual cases.”
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