Glasgow's most beleaguered hospital now faces a fraud probe

Dear readers – welcome to your Monday briefing, a one-stop-shop guide to what’s going on in Glasgow, from headlines to events.

It’s been a rapid start here at Bell HQ. Our office view is currently of autumnal sun filtering pleasingly through an apple tree overladen with orchard fruit, the aroma of freshly roasted beans wafting through from the coffee roastery next door. We like to think of The Bell briefing as not dissimilar to the pleasant and heady hit of your late morning caffeinated pick-me-up. We are now a mere baw hair away from hitting 2,500 subscribers to our newsletter – massive thanks to everyone who’s been ringing the bell and spreading the good word far and wide.

Over the weekend we published Natalie Whittle’s poetic and thought provoking examination of Glasgow’s rain, which made the case for taking a more optimistic view of the city’s downpours. Readers loved being asked to reframe Glasgow as a “temperate rainforest”. Someone described the rain as a “neat prism” to consider the city's issues, although another pointed out that the flora benefitting from the cloudburst is often “growing out the roofs and windows of the manifold abandoned buildings”. Our favourite feedback came from Right To Roam campaigner Jon Moses, who called the piece a “spirited take on ecological urbanism.”

Of course, national and local news has been dominated by the shock death of Scottish political titan Alex Salmond. Whatever your views on the man, it is indisputable that he transformed the SNP from the butt of many a political joke to an election winning machine. Salmond was an east-coaster, hailing from the Royal Burgh of Linlithgow. He lived in Strichen, and served the constituents of Aberdeenshire for much of his life. But such was his stature, he upended the politics of working class Glasgow too, turning the red heartlands yellow and breaking Labour’s iron grip on the city

Another key legacy was appointing current Glasgow Southside MSP Nicola Sturgeon as his successor, a relationship permanently fractured by their very public dispute and the protracted sexual assault case against Salmond. (Despite multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault, Salmond was cleared by a jury of 14 counts of sexual assault after a two week trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2020.) Their partnership was explored in Salmond and Sturgeon: A Troubled Union, made by Govan-based Firecrest Films for BBC Scotland. True to form, Salmond vituperatively attacked the making of the series, and the BBC’s “venomous bias” against Scottish independence. 

Leaving behind many memorials that will be exploring – or obscuring – various parts of Salmond's complex and often unsavoury history, this week The Bell has stories on Glasgow's Brutalist cityscape, as well as its fragmented public transport system. But in the meantime, here's the rest of the Monday briefing.

Big story: Glasgow's most beleaguered hospital now faces a fraud probe

Top line: Troubled Govan ‘superhospital’, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, faces more woes as it’s subject to a fraud investigation alongside an ongoing public health enquiry. 

Context: The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital has been in the headlines almost consistently since 2019. When it was opened in 2015, at a cost of £842 million, the site was one of the largest and most medically advanced in Europe. But since day one, there were teething issues.

• Within its first few months figures showed the QEUH was the worst performing hospital in Scotland for waiting times, with one woman telling the BBC it was like “a war zone”
• This slowly bloomed into public scandal after repeated concerns were raised over several patient deaths linked to infections. 

In 2020, a public inquiry began into safety and wellbeing at QEUH and Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children. Evidence hearings on the latter institution have now concluded but the digging into QEUH isn’t over – a third phase of hearings resumed in August and will run until 15 November 2024. This part of the inquiry is looking at how much non-compliance with regulations and guidance may have contributed to any ventilation and water supply contamination issues at the healthcare complex – resulting in infections.  

Dodgy… somethings? As if that wasn’t enough, a criminal investigation is now underway at QEUH. News was broken on Friday by The Scottish Sun that computers and electronic devices were removed from QEUH’s corporate estate and facilities department on 4 November, as part of a probe into fraud allegations. Hospital managers were supposedly spoken to by the fraud team last week. 

The Bell did its own ringing around and can confirm the investigation is of a criminal nature, led by NHS Scotland’s Counter Fraud Services (CFS). There was some confusion for a while; a representative from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde tried to claim The Sun’s reporting had inserted the word “criminal” into the statement the organisation had issued and wouldn’t be drawn on whether the matter was non-criminal or not. 

Clarity, finally: But several switchboards later, CFS confirmed The Sun had been right, this was a criminal probe and yes, they are being supported by Police Scotland in the endeavour. Every agency told us (and The Sun) that this latest investigation is “not connected to the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde hospital's water supply or the ongoing inquiry.” Which, in some ways, is worse news for QEUH as it means there’s the potential for a whole other scandal to erupt. 

• And there’s political allegiances muddying the water; for some of the particularly jaded, QEUH has been seen as a battle taken up by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, the regional MSP, who has borne down pressure on the SNP for failures at the hospital.

Bottom line: There were few willing to comment further on the details of a live criminal investigation. But with QEUH taking a hammering on several fronts, public confidence in the facility can’t afford to dip lower. Govan's Scottish Green Party councillor Dan Hutchinson pointed out to The Bell that the campus is not just a vital service for people across Glasgow and further afield, it’s also a major workplace. “It's essential for locals and the workforce that the health board gets the hospital into the safest and highest functioning position it can,” he said. “People need to have confidence in our health service and that confidence needs to be earned back."

Your Bell briefing

🎶 Sad news: Glasgow’s music scene is in mourning after the death of Jack Revill, aka Jackmaster, over the weekend. The 38 year-old DJ passed away in Ibiza, on 12 October, following complications from a head injury. Revill was a storied presence in the city, cutting his teeth at Rubadub record store and many legendary Glasgow venues before finding international success. Tributes have poured in for a man with boundless talent and a complicated legacy; in 2018, Revill faced allegations of sexual misconduct, which he admitted. “Jack’s appetite for life took him to unreal highs and very dark lows,” wrote the editor of Resident Advisor, Gabriel Szatan, while also remembering Revill’s record of boosting the careers of countless people, including his own. “You can’t put a price on the value of that support”. 

🚧 Street life… Glasgow City Council have announced the next phase of their multi-million pound ‘Avenues’ redevelopment project will kick off in 2025. Described by The Herald as the “biggest transformation of Glasgow’s public realm in half a century”, the scheme is supposed to renovate major city thoroughfares like Argyle Street to make them friendlier for ‘active travel’ (meaning cyclists and pedestrians), as well as more environmentally robust. The council have warned this will mean further medium-term disruption, like the works that have been ongoing on Sauchiehall Street – a pilot ‘Avenue’ scheme – since 2018. Perhaps the Avenues timetable released by the council is in anticipation of a new-look Sauchiehall Street quelling the grumbling around fresh roadworks; an updated completion date for the project has now been pegged for sometime between December and January 2025. 

🚫 Out of line: The SNP have expelled a Glasgow MSP for his “unacceptable” comments on Israel’s war on Gaza. Over the weekend, John Mason, who represents Glasgow Shettleston, announced on X that he was “disappointed” to have been expelled over denying Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide. This morning, Mason (who has previously been reprimanded by the SNP for remarks on anti-abortion campaigns) stood by his comments during an interview on BBC Radio Scotland and said he was considering appealing the party’s decision. Since the attacks of 7 October 2023, in which militant group Hamas killed 1,189 Israelis, 796 of them civilians, at least 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces, nearly 2% of the territory's population.

Spot of the week

With the last of the good weather fast dissipating, there’s nowhere better to take in the few remaining sunny days than Cathkin Braes. At 300 feet above sea level, Queen Mary’s Seat is the highest point in the city, with panoramic views north and southwards. We’ve heard cuckoos in the Big Wood, spotted goldfinches in the heath, and seen kestrels circling above the marshes. If you recognise the view, it’s because you’ve seen it in the opening titles from Taggart. - Robbie

If you'd like to submit a 'Spot of the week', send in a short blurb and photo to editor@glasgowbell.co.uk.

Media picks

Some laughs: If you’re in need of light relief, the Some Laugh podcast now has 126 episodes and counting (previous guests include Sanjeev Kohli, Ashley Storrie and Reginald D. Hunter). Each week, comedians Marc Jennings, Stephen Buchanan and Stuart McPherson sit down with some of their favourite funny folk, often ending up on wildly unpredictable conversation tangents. We loved recent episode ‘Peacocks Should Eat Rainbows with Fern Brady’, which features an incredible yarn from the Bathgate comedian about accepting an award while tripping on magic mushrooms in the presence of a rather confused Irvine Welsh. 

Govanhill then, Govanhill now: We loved this set of snaps from Greater Govanhill magazine’s new photography group, published in the magazine’s heritage issue. To document the evolving environment of one of Glasgow’s ever-changing areas, local photographers recreated old pictures mined from the Glasgow City Archives, and displayed them side-by-side. “In some recreations, the scenes seem barely changed – noticeable only by the modes of transport and fashions. In others they are barely recognisable and require a good deal of imagination to draw the line from past to present.”

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Things to do

Tuesday

🎤 Tomorrow Red Raw will be hosting their weekly beginners showcase at The Stand Comedy Club on Woodlands Road. According to the night’s own website, it’s the best open mic night in the UK (feel free to let us know if you agree). There will be up to ten acts, some of them performing for the very first time, and a few old hands with brand new material too. Tickets cost £6, or £5 for members.

Wednesday

🎺 Join SEKOYA for the launch of their debut album at The Rum Shack. The Glaswegian three-piece attribute their sound to a vast array of influences, from nu-jazz to Scottish trad and “modern textural orchestral music”. This may sound like a mixed bag, but The Scotsman has called their album “a beautifully crafted piece of work.” The night is hosted by LayLow, which has earned a reputation for booking some of the most interesting Jazz musicians from Glasgow and across the UK. Doors open at 8pm, and tickets can be purchased here.

Thursday

🏮One for the kids: as evenings darken, Mackintosh at the Willow is offering afternoon workshops for making your very own willow tree night light. The classes are suitable for children aged 5 to 12, but all ages are welcome. Tickets cost £6; adults must accompany children but only need to book an extra ticket if they plan on making a light themselves. But why wouldn’t you want to? 

Friday

✊ Round off the working week with a radical history tour of Glasgow’s Southside, from Govanhill to Pollokshields. Learn about Maoist bank robbers, political songs, and Yiddish theatre in this tour famously packed with “vintage leftwing gossip”. The tour will cover two miles and take up to two hours – be sure to pack a warm coat.

Saturday

🎬 If you’re based in East Kilbride – or fancy the journey – you can pop down to the FP Arts Short Film Festival on Saturday. The event is hosted at the East Kilbride Arts Centre, and will feature 8 new short films between 5 and 18 minutes in length. After the screenings, the audience is invited to vote for their top two favourite films to win the audience award, and there will be a judges award too. Tickets for the event cost £15.

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