IS Glasgow’s super-hospital a safe place to be treated? That will be the crux of a major inquiry into the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital following the death of “several patients” from bacterial infections. 

The public were given the chance to grill the two men in charge of a government inquiry into the design, commissioning and construction of the hospital and more specifically whether the ventilation and water systems have contributed to infection rates, deaths and illness. 

The husband and daughter of a woman who died after contracting the Cryptococcus infection - linked to pigeon droppings - were among those at today’s formal call for evidence. Two patients died - an elderly woman and a 10 year-old boy, who is thought to have been receiving treatment for cancer. 

Beth Armstrong, the patient’s daughter, asked if the inquiry would look at the hospital’s proximity to a sewage works, while Jim Cowan, the patient’s husband, asked if there were any, long-standing concerns about the old Southern General. 

Dr Andrew Fraser, the co-chair of the inquiry said a hospital has existed on that site “for a long time” and it will not be a primary focus for the inquiry but any findings would be taken into account. 

Another member of the public asked if the hospital is currently safe and was told that the health board had put in a number of “fixes” to help allay concerns about the ventilation system and water quality. 

The public including patients are being asked to contribute to the inquiry, which is expected to publish it’s findings in Spring next year.