NEW £150m HOSPITAL OPENING UP AT LAST
Two years late after series of catastrophic safety failures, Sick Kids finally able to treat all patients
THE new £150million Sick Kids hospital in Edinburgh will open on March 23 – almost two years late.
Patients and staff were due to be transferred to the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in July 2019.
But at the 11th hour Health Secretary Jeane Freeman halted the move when the hospital failed safety checks on ventilation, water and drainage systems.
A report revealed NHS Lothian and the Scottish Government knew there were problems at the hospital in May 2018. An Audit Scotland document said an extra £11.6million payment to contractors was approved to help fix problems with “drainage solution, heater batteries and void fire detectors”.
In July last year, most of the children’s outpatient services and the department of clinical neurosciences migrated to the Little France site, and earlier this year, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service inpatient facilities and some other outpatient services also moved to the new hospital.
Yesterday, Calum Campbell, chief executive of NHS Lothian said: “I am delighted to announce that the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People will fully open on March 23, bringing world class clinical facilities to the people of Lothian.
“Our wish for this project was for it to
It will bring world class clinical facilities CALUM CAMPBELL NHS LOTHIAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE
be designed in collaboration with patients and their families, as well as our staff, and the facilities that are available within the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People are testament to the success of that approach. “The spaces are welcoming, but also fun, intended to put children and young people at ease at a time when they might otherwise be frightened, unsure or upset.
“The designed space is complemented by the inclusion of the latest clinical thinking and technology, enabling our teams to provide the best treatment and care for our patients for years to come.”
The new hospital is connected to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, with paediatric care, specialist neonatal care, neurosciences and both emergency departments on the same site, reducing the need for transfers between hospitals and ensuring teams can share expertise.
A statutory public inquiry is under way to review issues at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and the Sick Kids in Edinburgh.
THE husband of a woman killed by a £45million EuroMillions winner in a car crash says he will never forgive him.
Matt Topham, 31, killed Jane Regler, 75, on Christmas Day when he took his eyes off the road to pick up a teddy dropped by his son.
Yesterday he was cleared by a jury of death by dangerous driving and was also found not guilty of a second charge relating to the serious injuries suffered by Jane’s husband Rodney Regler, 78.
Rodney, from Louth, Lincolnshire, who was driving the other vehicle, revealed his heartache over the death of his “soulmate” Jane. He said: “I won’t forgive him. I never will, ever, ever forgive the man.”
But big-hearted Rodney also said he believed Topham did not intend to hurt his wife of 56 years. He said: “He took his eye off the road, we’ve all done it – anyone that drives and says ‘I ain’t done it’ is a liar.
“It went wrong for him, and for me and my wife. But I don’t hold grudges. And he’s got to live with it for the rest of his life, if he’s got a conscience.”
Rodney also said that he “couldn’t care less” about Topham’s millions.
The fatal crash happened near North Cockerington, Lincolnshire, in 2019. Topham, driving a BMW X6, told Lincoln crown court his two-year-old son’s piercing scream caused him to turn around for a “split second”.
He veered into the opposite carriageway on a bend giving Ford Fiesta driver Rodney no time to react. Following the crash Topham immediately dialled 999.
Topham, who won his lotto jackpot with wife Cassey in 2012, then helped carry retired Post Office cleaner Jane out of her passenger seat. He told a police officer at the scene: “I’ve made a simple mistake and f***ed up someone’s life.”
His lawyer Paul Greaney QC had tried to get the dangerous driving charges thrown out at the 11th hour.
Midway through the trial he argued that no jury could safely convict his client, claiming Topham had “no case to answer”.
But Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight disagreed saying Topham was on a “non-urgent journey”. She added: “His youngest child was very unhappy, screaming indeed, but not actually at risk. The defendant looked wholly away from the road. I find there is a case for the defendant to answer.”
Topham admitted causing death by careless driving.
He will be sentenced at the same court today.
It went wrong for him for me & my wife. He has to live with this for the rest of his life RODNEY REGLER WHOSE WIFE OF 56 YRS WAS KILLED IN CRASH