£33m bill to replace Grenfell-style cladding at scandal-hit hospital
HEALTH chiefs are to spend £33million ripping out and replacing dangerous wall panels at a flagship hospital over fire safety fears.
Works to remove panels from the atrium at the state-of-theart Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow will begin on Monday.
The move comes just seven years after it was opened in a £1billion SNP project.
Fears were first raised over potentially flammable wall linings back in 2021, after construction company Multiplex – who fitted the panels – admitted some did not meet building regulations.
There were concerns of a Grenfell-style disaster if a fire broke out at the 1,677-bed facility. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) later announced it would remove and replace panels from the £842million flagship site.
Professor Tom Steele, director of estates and facilities at NHSGGC, said: ‘We would like to reassure everybody who uses the QEUH that throughout the period of work we will continue to provide high-quality patient-centred care.
‘There may be some changes to waiting areas, but all clinics and wards will remain open.’
Works are expected to be finished in 2027, but health bosses and fire chiefs insist the building is safe and will ‘remain so throughout’.
Alasdair Perry, head of prevention
‘Advice was to remove material’
and protection for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: ‘Our advice was to remove this material as soon as reasonably practicable and replace with wall lining materials that reduce the fire risk.
‘Ultimately we are satisfied that the hospital can still safely operate and any risk to patients and the local community is low.’
The cost is being supported by the Scottish Government and makes up part of a legal claim currently being pursued by the health board.
NHSGGC is suing Multiplex along with Capita Property and Infrastructure and Currie and Brown UK, as part of a £73million claim over design defects at QEUH and the Royal Hospital for Children.
A HOSPITAL was forced to use portable sinks after legionella was detected in its cold water system.
Bottled water for tooth brushing was also handed out at the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway.
Health chiefs said patient care had not been impacted and the risk of anyone contracting Legionnaires’ Disease was ‘extremely low’.
Essential work to replace isolation valves to the water distribution pipework at the hospital commenced earlier this month. And in a statement NHS Western Isles said that as part of the project, regular water testing is being carried out.
A spokesman said: ‘Elevated levels of Legionella species are not uncommon across the country, and NHS Western Isles is experienced in managing such events.’