Appeal for information on Sick Kids
The retired judge chairing the public inquir y into the construction of Edinburgh’s new Sick Kids hospital has urged anyone with relevant information to come forward.
Lord Brodie, who is also looki ng a t the Queen Elizab eth Universit y Hospital campus (QEUH) in Glasgow, said the inquiry team had already met with representatives of affected patients and families.
In a video appeal, he said considerable progress had been made since the launch of the Scottish Hospitals Inquir y in August, including the recruitment of researchers, document managers, solicitors and counsel. And he said his priority was “further engagement with families and those who have been affected, to listen to what they have to say”.
And he said: "Whoever you are, if you think you have any information that may assist the inquiry, please get in touch.”
The new Sick Kids hospital should have opened in July last year, but a last-minute inspection found the ventilation system in critical car e did not meet national standards and the move was called off. Meanwhile, a number of patients at the Glasgow hospital died from infections that have been linked to water contamination.
The inquir y will investigate ventilation, water contamination and other matters and will make recommendations to prevent past mistakes being repeated in future NHS infrastructure projects.
Lord Brodie said: “We have reached out to a wide range of those who are interested in the work of the inquir y and met with a number of those including representatives of patients and their families at both hospitals, and gained very helpful insights from these conversations.
“We have begun to gather and familiarise ourselves with rel
evant documentation. Together, these insights and documentation have informed the process of identifying the specific lines of investigation which the inquiry will pursue.
“As the year draws to a close,
I am pleased with the progress made so far. The Inquiries Act 2005 requires an inquiry to be set up from scratch.
“We have b een doing this wh i l e c o n t e n d i n g wi t h t h e changing circumstances and
restrictions arising from Covid-19. Despite this, we have recruited a strong team to further engage with families and affected parties.”