Inquiry hearings into Edinburgh's new Sick Kids hospital scheduled for early next year

Problems with the construction of Edinburgh’s new Sick Kids hospital will be the focus of public hearings by the Scottish Hospital Inquiry early next year.

Lord Brodie held a meeting with the key parties to the inquiry

Lord Brodie, chair of the inquiry – which is also looking into what went wrong with the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow – said the experiences of patients and families at both hospitals would be the top priority at the initial hearings of the inquiry in September this year.

After a virtual meeting with representatives of the key parties to the inquiry he said: “Our first priority is to understand the experiences of affected patients and their families. We have already begun to speak with families in relation to both hospitals, however, we ask anyone who has not been in touch with us yet with relevant experience or information to contact us.

"We will aim to be able to bring to hearings in the early part of next year issues relating to the Edinburgh hospital.”

The new Sick Kids, next to the Royal Infirmary at Little France, is due to become fully operational next Tuesday , a year and eight months after its opening was called off at the last minute after the discovery that ventilation in critical care areas did not meet national standards.

Health Secretary ordered the cancellation in July 2019 and commissioned thorough checks which revealed further problems.

The £150 million building, which replaces the current Sick Kids hospital at Sciennes, has 242 beds, 10 wards, 10 theatres, therapy departments, outpatients and physical and mental health specialities on one site. Several services have already moved to the new site.

At QEUH, two patients died after contracting an infection linked to pigeon droppings and thought to have been spread via contaminated air vents and the death of a child cancer patient has been linked to water contamination.

Ahead of the formal hearings, a procedural hearing is scheduled to take place remotely on June 22.

Relevant information can be shared by calling the Inquiry’s dedicated phone line on 0808 196 5000 between 8:30am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday or emailing [email protected]. Further contact details are available on the website www.hospitalsinquiry.scot.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.