An international search could be launched to trace a family who do not know their child’s death was linked to an infection at Glasgow ’s super-hospital.
The Scottish Government is enlisting the support of diplomatic contacts - suggesting the family could be overseas.
Police could also be part of the massive search operation, the Record can reveal.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who has campaigned for justice in the heartbreaking case, said:
“I welcome the commitment to now explore using police and consulate resources to trace the family, but this should have happened months ago.
“There is a family out there with no idea about what happened to their child, and that is devastating.”
The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QUEH), run by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, has been dogged by patient safety scandals since opening in 2015.
A Government-commissioned probe found that the deaths of two children at the hospital were “at least in part” the result of an infection.
One of the children was tragic ten year old Milly Main, who died at the hospital after contracting a water-linked infection.
The report also revealed a second case where a child’s death was “probably linked” to the hospital environment.
However, health chiefs have been unable to locate one of the families relevant to the probe and Sarwar has been told it is “almost definitely” the parents of the dead child.
He raised the case at Holyrood and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her Government would redouble their efforts to find the family.
A Scottish Government spokesman has now told the Record: “We know how important this is and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have done everything they are legally allowed to do to make contact with the family.
“Given the importance of this, the Scottish Government is urgently examining other possible avenues to try and trace the family.
“This includes exploring what possibilities there are to utilise either police and or consulate resources in these very unusual circumstances - however we must ensure any actions we take are compliant with the law.”
Sarwar has welcomed police involvement, but the Glasgow MSP has accused health chiefs of a slow response.
In a letter to Sarwar, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the failure to locate a family was brought to the Government’s attention when copies of the probe findings were sent to families.
Yousaf wrote: “The courier was unable to make the delivery to the family in question because the residents at the address advised that the package was addressed to the previous occupants.
“Once the Case Note Review Team became aware of this on 22 March 2021, they alerted NHS GGC requesting they do their utmost to locate the family.”
However, Sarwar said NHS whistleblowers had first flagged the case as far back as 2019.
He blasted: “It’s disgraceful that it wasn’t until March this year that health chiefs realised they couldn’t locate one of the families – nearly a year-and-a-half after whistleblowers first revealed two children had died.
“This is the direct result of months of cover-up by the health board’s management, which should have led to resignations.
“The only people who have paid the price for this scandal have been the families and the whistleblowers.
“We must strain every sinew to find the family who remain in the dark.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Any request for assistance from the Scottish Government would be considered and an assessment made to determine if we can help.”
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “Ahead of the publication of the Case Note Review in March, we did everything possible within the legal framework to establish contact with all of the families of patients.
"Unfortunately, despite strenuous efforts, and using all means available, we were unable to contact one family. Due to patient confidentiality we are not able to provide further details on the very significant efforts that were made to establish the whereabouts of this family.
“We remain fully committed to working with the Case Note Review team and to supporting patients and their families, particularly those whose lives have been impacted upon by the areas that will be examined by the Public Inquiry.”
