A health board has said it is "truly sorry" for the distress caused to parents following the deaths of two children at a 'super hospital' in Glasgow.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) issued the apology after the health secretary said she had a "great deal of concerns" and warned the Scottish Government could intervene in the scandal-hit hospital's management.

Jeane Freeman said she would be making a statement at Holyrood this week on the matter.

NHSGGC has come under fire after it emerged that police are investigating the death of a three-year-old boy at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in August 2017, the same month as ten-year-old Milly Main.

Two wards at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) - on the same campus as QEUH - were closed in September last year following concerns from Health Protection Scotland over incidents of water contamination.

Milly's death has been linked to the water contamination scare.

The girl's parents were reportedly not told about the link, which emerged following investigations into infections in children in the cancer wards at the RHC two years ago.

Milly's mother, Kimberly Darroch, said she is "100%" certain her daughter died due to infected water at the hospital.

Speaking to STV News on Monday morning, Ms Freeman said there was "no indication" that the deaths of the two children are linked.

She said: "There is no indication that there is a connection between those two deaths.

"In terms of that young boy's family, it is my understanding that his family were given full information about what happened in his case, the cause of his death and so on, and were fully informed and involved.

"But in the case of Milly Main, that was not what happened and it is not acceptable that her mum found out that at least one of the factors in her daughter's death was an infection when she read the death certificate.

"She should have been informed of all that much earlier by the board and that is the matters that we need to get behind and we need to sort out."

Following Ms Freeman's criticism, in which she said special measures to take a direct role in the management of a chosen health board was "always an option", NHSGGC issued an apology.

A NHSGGC spokesperson said: "We are truly sorry for the distress recent events have caused parents and we wish to make it clear we are taking these matters extremely seriously.

"We continue to work to ensure any questions or concerns raised by parents of past and current patients are answered fully and truthfully."