Calls to confirm inquiry into Milly Main's hospital death

Scotland’s top prosecutor has been challenged to confirm if a Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held into the death of a ten-year-old girl at a hospital where concerns have been raised about contaminated water supplies.

Labour MSP Anas Sarwar called on Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC to “publicly confirm” if such a probe will take place into the death of Milly Main.

She was undergoing treatment for cancer at the Royal Hospital for Children, which is part of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus in Glasgow.

But her mother Kimberly Darroch has said she believes her daughter’s death in 2017 was “100%” due to contaminated water.

Sarwar was clear that the inquiry into the youngster’s death should not take place while the coronavirus pandemic was ongoing.

But he insisted: “The coronavirus crisis cannot be allowed to prevent all the facts being made public about the failures of Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board.”

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde reported Milly’s death to the Procurator Fiscal in February this year.

And Sarwar, a Glasgow MSP who has been supporting the family, said confirmation that a Fatal Accident Inquiry would be held would “help reassure the public that justice will be sought”.

He said: “As the coronavirus outbreak continues to take its toll, this is an incredibly anxious time for all families. But for Milly’s family there is the added anxiety of the ongoing search for the truth about her death.

“With so much pressure on public services, it is clear to me that an inquiry cannot be held until we have exited the coronavirus routemap.

“However, there is absolutely no reason at all why the Lord Advocate could not publicly confirm now that an independent Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held into Milly’s death.

“I believe this is the very least the family deserves to hear at this difficult time, as we approach the third anniversary of her death.

“I believe it would also be a source of huge comfort to the many other families seeking answers, and help reassure the public that justice will be sought.”

A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “The Procurator Fiscal has received a report in connection with the death of a child in Glasgow on August 31 2017.

“The investigation into the death, under the direction of Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU), is ongoing and the family will continue to be kept updated in relation to any significant developments.”