Health chiefs to sue over crisis hospital
Lawyers will blame construction firm for blunders
HEALTH bosses are suing the construction firm behind Scotland’s crisishit superhospital.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has instructed lawyers to launch legal action against Brookfield Multiplex.
The move follows the deaths of two children at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus and was disclosed at a health board meeting yesterday.
NHSGGC chief executive Jane Grant said legal action would be taken ‘as a matter of urgency’.
She added: ‘Since its opening, a number of issues have arisen around the operational effectiveness of the hospital which have impacted on the delivery of safe and effective health care. I am sorry for the distress this has caused.
‘I am fully committed to resolving these issues and, alongside the rest of the NHS board, will address these in a fully transparent and open manner.’
Legal firm MacRoberts LLP will act on the board’s behalf to raise court proceedings. NHSGGC was put in special measures by Health Secretary Jeane Freeman last month in the wake of an infection scandal resulting in the deaths of two children at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) on the campus in 2017. One was ten-year-old Milly Main, who contracted an infection while recovering from leukaemia.
A ten-year-old boy died in the main building with an infection linked to pigeon droppings.
Since it was opened in 2015, the QEUH complex has been hit with problems including water hygiene, ventilation, glazing, fire doors, cladding and its roof. These have had an ‘adverse impact’ on the hospital’s ability to deliver care, the NHSGGC board papers state.
Brookfield Multiplex, a global firm, designed and constructed the £842million building.
The board papers state: ‘Since the QEUH and the RHC opened, a number of issues have been identiand fied that have impacted on the seamless delivery of health care.
‘The limitations on capacity and the impact this has on the flow of patients through the QEUH has had an adverse impact on the hospital’s delivery of both unscheduled and scheduled care.’
They also disclose that the QEUH is treating ‘considerably higher numbers of patients than originally anticipated’. The board has set up a new minor injuries unit to ease pressure on A&E.
Labour MSP Anas Sarwar said: ‘This hospital was commissioned by the health board, the building was overseen by the health board, it was signed off by the health board despite warnings about the high risk of infection, it was opened by the health board the infections scandal was subsequently covered up by the health board.
‘If senior managers are now accepting there were problems with the hospital, who is going to take responsibility for opening it and putting patients at risk?’
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘This is another depressing twist in a sorry saga, created by the SNP Government’s mismanagement of a major hospital building project.
‘This legal action will not reassure patients or staff or reduce the chances of infection.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The decision to take legal action is entirely a matter for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board. The Scottish Government and the board are committed to making progress in tackling critical issues of importance to patients and their families, with the fullest possible level of transparency.
‘Subject to the need to maintain the confidentiality of reports prepared with a view to legal proceedings, we have been clear with the board that we expected any relevant reports to be published as soon as possible.’
Brookfield Multiplex did not respond to requests for comment.
‘Take responsibility for opening it’