Crisis-hit children’s hospital ‘faces being torn down unopened’
SAFETY fears at a £150million new children’s hospital may mean it has to be ripped down before it even opens, it was claimed yesterday.
A senior trade union official said drainage problems at the Royal Hospital for Children and young People are a bigger worry than the ventilation issue that has delayed its opening.
The facility at Edinburgh’s Little France campus was supposed to receive its first patients last month – but Health Secretary Jeane Freeman stepped in to overrule NHS Lothian and halt the process after last-minute inspections highlighted safety concerns.
And unison official Tam Waterson, who represents thousands of NHS workers waiting to transfer to the new hospital, yesterday warned that the crisis-hit building may have to be scrapped altogether.
NHS Lothian is presently carrying out a review of the water, ventilation and drainage systems at the hospital, ordered by Miss Freeman, and no date has yet been given for when the site will be safe for use.
Mr Waterson told the Herald on Sunday: ‘We know the drainage is not fit for purpose.
‘It’s been flooded twice with nobody in it. There is a school of thought that they might have to rip it down.’
He added: ‘My understanding is that we will not know the full extent of the drainage issues until the hospital is working at full capacity. That is a major health and safety risk.
‘My big concern is we open the hospital without doing all the checks, satisfying ourselves the drainage is fine, and we then have to close the hospital.’
Asked about Miss Freeman’s future, Mr Waterson said: ‘She is accountable. If things go wrong on her watch, then it is down to her.’
It emerged last week that the health board has been paying around £1.4million a month since February for the empty hospital to developers Integrated Health Solutions Lothian (IHSL) under the agreed 25year private finance deal.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said he had written to Audit Scotland to request a full audit of the project, which he branded ‘a complete farce from the start’.
He added: ‘This has unravelled on the SNP Government’s watch, and it needs to start taking responsibility.’
Scottish Labour’s health spokesman Monica Lennon said: ‘ultimately, the buck stops with Jeane Freeman. That the new Edinburgh Sick Kids could be ripped down before it even opens is unthinkable.’
Scottish Lib dem health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘An independent inquiry into how this entire build has been managed, including how it has been overseen by SNP ministers, is now necessary.’
Nurse director at NHS Lothian, Professor Alex McMahon, said: ‘The decision to delay the move followed the identification of a problem with ventilation in critical care. Given the pause in occupation, the commissioned reviews will focus on ventilation and will also look at drainage and water systems.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Health Secretary has been clear her priority is patient safety.’
A spokesman for IHSL said: ‘We will provide whatever assistance is required to NHS Lothian, to the extent any modifications to the building are now deemed necessary.’