New ward ‘will be simple build’

In a year plagued by hospital scandals, NHS Forth Valley should be cautious about Western Building Systems, Helen Mcardle reports

THE last thing the NHS in Scotland needs is another flawed hospital build.

The Queen Elizabeth University campus in Glasgow is embroiled in a scandal over infections linked to contaminated water, and the opening of the new children’s hospital in Edinburgh has been stalled amid problems with its ventilation.

Therefore, it is understandable that concerns would be raised at the prospect of a firm already battling allegations of shoddy construction on dozens of schools in Ireland being awarded a £3 million contract for the Forth Valley Royal.

Scottish Conservative spokesman Miles Briggs said: “The SNP record on NHS construction projects is deeply concerning as we have seen with the ongoing problems at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and the new Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh. We need to make sure all due process has been followed and that these projects will be safe.”

To be fair, the construction of a 30-bed ward is nowhere near as complex at the flagship hospital builds in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The facility would also be mainly used to accommodate patients undergoing routine operations such as hip and knee replacements, rather than cancer patients highly vulnerable to infections from faulty water and ventilation systems.

The schools row in Ireland has been bitter and officials in Scotland should be wary of any repeat here.

In the past year, structural checks have identified defects requiring urgent or precautionary repairs at 39 schools built by Western.

This followed the discovery of “significant structural issues” at Ardgillan Community College in County Dublin, and problems at two other schools which forced them to move premises.

In March 2019, Ireland’s Department of Education lodged 19 legal actions against Western, but in April the firm countersued for

€750,000 (£647,000) in overdue payments.

A spokesman for the County Tyrone-based firm said it would “vigorously contest” the case, adding that the Government has provided “no evidence to support [its] claims”.

He said: “To date evidence of any alleged defects have never been published and the scope and findings of the department’s own works have never been made public.”

Western Building Systems stresses that the NHS Forth Valley project – which they confirmed they have bid for – is a “different build system” from the disputed schools.

The development at the Forth Valley Royal is part of a £17m investment from the Scottish Government designed to cut waiting times for elective surgery.

It has already used the fund to purchase a second MRI scanner, as well as launching the first of two new operating theatres, which will take the total number to 16.

A spokeswoman for NHS Forth Valley said the new 30-bed modular ward for day-case and overnight patients was a “relatively simple and straightforward project” which they expected to open next summer.

She said: “This new ward will be housed in a small single storey extension at the rear of the hospital and will provide inpatient care for patients undergoing planned orthopaedic and general surgery.”