Who chaired the final decision meeting for the new Glasgow hospital site?

1. What the sources do say about decision-making bodies

Official minutes and inquiry materials show decisions about the Glasgow hospital programme were taken across several committees and executive groups rather than in one publicly documented “final decision meeting.” The NHS Scotland Executive Group and NHS Chairs meetings feature in the record as forums where planning and prioritisation were discussed ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}. The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry bundles list programme governance such as Strategic Management Groups, with named chairs for specific sub-groups — for example, Robert Calderwood is recorded as chairing a Strategic Management Group in one bundle ^[1].

2. Who individual sources identify as chairs or leaders

Several documents name officials with formal chair roles relevant to Glasgow planning: the inquiry material lists Robert Calderwood as chair of a Strategic Management Group ^[1]. The NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde board page identifies Dr Lesley Thomson KC as Chair of that board ^[6]. The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry itself is chaired by Lord Brodie KC ^[7]. These are distinct roles in governance, oversight and inquiry rather than a single “final decision meeting” chair ^{[6] [1] [7]}.

3. Why a single “final decision meeting” may be hard to identify

The programme’s governance appears distributed: planning, business-case decisions and operational choices were routed through national executive groups, chairs’ meetings, board meetings and project sub‑groups, each with different chairs and remits ^{[2] [3] [1]}. Minutes and bundles in the public record emphasise multi‑body scrutiny and iterative decision papers rather than one conclusive, singular meeting labelled as the “final decision” ^{[1] [2]}.

4. What the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry material reveals about key actors

Inquiry documents and reporting focus on senior executives and board figures: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde leadership (including chief executives named in minutes) and named programme managers appear repeatedly in bundles and minutes ^{[1] [8]}. The inquiry itself is led by Lord Brodie KC, who oversees the public examination of how decisions were made and recorded ^[7]. Those materials show the inquiry is examining whether proper records exist for key choices, underscoring that clarity on who chaired particular meetings can be contested or missing ^{[1] [7]}.

5. Competing readings and the limits of the record

One reading of the documents is that programme management—subgroups chaired by project leads like Robert Calderwood—performed much of the practical decision-making ^[1]. Another reading is that strategic decisions sat with national bodies (NHS Scotland Executive Group, Chairs meetings) whose minutes show oversight activity but do not single out a “final” meeting or chairperson ^{[2] [3] [4]}. Available sources do not mention a named person who chaired a definitive “final decision meeting” for the new Glasgow hospital site.

6. What would settle the question and why it matters

To answer definitively would require locating the specific board paper or minute that records a final approval and names its chair or presiding officer; that document is not in the supplied results (not found in current reporting). Identifying the chair matters because inquiries and public accountability depend on clear records of who authorised what and when; the inquiry has already highlighted gaps and contested documentary trails in the project’s governance ^{[1] [7]}.

If you want, I can search more widely for the specific approval minute or board paper (for example NHS GGC board minutes, Scottish Government decision records or the hospitals inquiry exhibit list) to try to locate the explicit reference to a “final decision meeting” and its chair.