Image copyright
Getty Images
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has instructed legal action against a contractor involved in the construction of its biggest hospital.
Brookfield Multiplex was responsible for the design and construction of the £575m Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) complex in Glasgow.
There have been problems at the campus since it opened in 2015.
Lawyers have been instructed to raise court proceedings against the contractor “as a matter of urgency”.
Public inquiry planned
MacRoberts LLP are acting on behalf of the health board, according to official papers.
A public inquiry is expected to look at how the design, handover and maintenance contributed to effective infection control at the QEUH complex.
It will also cover the new children’s hospital in Edinburgh, which also involved Brookfield Multiplex.
This was due to open in 2017, but will now not be ready until next autumn at the earliest after serious problems with the ventilation system were uncovered.
In brief: The trials of Scotland’s super hospital
- Last month, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was placed in “special measures” following issues over infection prevention, management and control at the hospitals.
- In January it emerged that two patients at the QEUH had died after contracting a fungal infection linked to pigeon droppings.
- In November it came to light that two children who had died in 2017 at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC), which is part of the complex, were treated on a ward affected by water contamination.
- That year it was also announced that cladding similar to that used on Grenfell Tower would be replaced, at a cost to the taxpayer of £6m.
- In 2018 a panel fell from the 10th floor of the QEUH, shattering near the front entrance. No-one was injured, but safety netting was erected around the hospital.
- Reports claimed panels had fallen from the building on at least three occasions since it opened. The health board said an investigation into what caused the fall was inconclusive.
Image copyright
Kimberly Darroch
10-year-old Milly Main, pictured here with her mother, died in 2017
In 2017, 10-year-old Milly Main was recovering from leukaemia at the Royal Hospital for Children.
But her Hickman line, a catheter used to administer drugs, became infected. Milly went into toxic shock and died days later.
Her family say they were kept in the dark about a potential link to contaminated water problems at the hospital.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde insists it is impossible to determine the source of Milly’s infection because there was no requirement to test the water supply at the time.
Image copyright
Victoria Freeman
Mason pictured in the Royal Hospital for Children, just hours before he died
Three weeks before Milly’s death, Mason Djemat, three, also died while being treated at the RHC. He was also a patient on a ward which was affected by water contamination.
Mason had Hunter syndrome, a rare genetic condition, but was strong and “extremely healthy” when he was admitted.
His family were told there was no concern and he would be getting home within weeks.
But one day his mother took a call to say that his condition had rapidly and unexpectedly deteriorated. He later died.
Police Scotland investigated the boy’s death and have submitted a report to the procurator fiscal.
The health board and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman have apologised to Mason and Milly’s parents.