NHS SUES BUILDER OF CRISIS HOSPITAL FOR £73M
Firm ‘compromised safe care of patients’, claim health chiefs
THE NHS has launched an unprecedented £73 million legal action against the construction firm which built Scotland’s crisis-hit superhospital.
Health bosses claim the faults and defects at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital
(QEUH) have compromised ‘safe and effective’ healthcare for patients. Since opening in 2015, the £842 million hospital has been plagued with difficulties, from sewage leaks in operating theatres and deaths caused by contaminated water to bacteria from pigeon droppings in the ventilation system.
Now NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) wants millions from the construction company it hired to build the hospital.
If the NHS wins its legal action – believed to be the largest of its kind ever seen in Scottish courts – the cash will be used to cover the cost of fixing the problems.
NHSGGC, which was last week placed under special measures amid fears about its performance, is suing design and construction company Brookfield Multiplex.
The firm is also behind the construction of Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children and Young People. Its opening last year was delayed because of flaws.
A spokesman for NHSGGC said: ‘Patients, families and staff deserve
‘We have taken action to address issues’
the QEUH and Royal Hospital for Children to be a safe and welcoming environment where the highest standard of person-centred care will be delivered.
‘However, since its opening, a number of issues have arisen around the operational effectiveness of the hospital which have impacted on the seamless delivery of safe and effective healthcare.
‘We have taken action to address a number of the issues and are in the process of remedying others.’
He said the £73 million includes costs incurred to date and an estimate of future costs but this ‘may be subject to change’.
The QEUH is one of the largest acute hospitals in the UK, with specialisms including renal medicine, transplant and vascular surgery.
Built on the site of the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, the QEUH has 1,109 beds in single rooms, 30 operating theatres and adjoins the 256-bed Royal Hospital for Children.
On its website, Multiplex – backed by parent firm Brookfield – boasted it delivered a ‘state-of-the-art healthcare facility and high-quality design environment ahead of schedule and under budget’.
Last night, a company spokesman said: ‘Multiplex is extremely disappointed that some five years after the completion of the QEUH, which was delivered on time, on budget and fully certified, the health board has now decided to issue legal proceedings against Multiplex, its design consultants and other professional advisers.
‘We are reviewing the terms of the claim and will provide a response in due course.
‘Multiplex is treating the matters raised with utmost seriousness and will continue to work openly, proactively and transparently with the health board on this project.’ A leaked report said areas of the campus were at ‘high risk’ of infection from the water supply when the hospital opened. It is said issues were ongoing in 2017 and 2018.
Mason Djemat, three, died on August 9, 2017, while on a ward linked to contaminated water.
Milly Main, ten, who was in remission from cancer, died weeks later after an infection. Between December 2018 and January of last year, a ten-year-old boy and a 73-year-old woman died after infections linked to pigeon droppings. The cryptococcus fungus contributed to the child’s death.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman put NHSGGC under increased levels of scrutiny and intervention last week amid concerns that the board faces ‘significant risks to delivery, quality, financial performance or safety’.
Last night, a Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘NHSGGC has raised legal action and, while we can’t comment on those proceedings, we expect health boards to take all appropriate measures to safeguard the interests of taxpayers and the public.’