Hearings commence into hospitals construction inquiry

The independent inquiry investigating the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Campus (QEUH) in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences (RHCYP/DCN) in Edinburgh has today began hearing from affected patients and families.

Hearings commence into hospitals construction inquiry

The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Campus in Glasgow

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry will determine how issues relating to adequacy of ventilation, water contamination and other matters impacted on patient safety and care and whether these issues could have been prevented.

It will also examine the impact of these issues on patients and their families and whether the buildings provide a suitable environment for the delivery of safe, effective care. It will make recommendations to ensure any past mistakes are not repeated in future NHS infrastructure projects.



Lord Brodie, chair of the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, said the first priority of the inquiry is to understand the experiences of affected patients and their families as a result of issues at both hospitals.

Lord Brodie said: “No other group has been more affected by these issues than the patients and families from whom we will be hearing in the next few weeks.

“Their experiences will help inform future lines of investigation as we turn our attention to subsequent phases of the Inquiry.

“This first diet of hearings is the culmination of a year of preparation, providing us with a foundation to ensure that the Inquiry is led by the evidence it uncovers during the course of its lifetime.



“Ultimately, our role is to understand what went wrong with the construction of these hospitals so lessons can be learned to prevent the recurrence of such issues in the future.”

The following organisations have been designated as core participants by the chair:

  • Currie & Brown UK Limited
  • Greater Glasgow Health Board
  • IBI Group (UK) Limited
  • IHS Lothian Limited
  • Lothian Health Board
  • Mott MacDonald Limited
  • Multiplex Construction Europe Limited
  • NHS National Services Scotland
  • Scottish Futures Trust
  • The Scottish Ministers
  • TÜV SÜD Limited

Hearings will take place at the inquiry’s office located at 20 West Register Street, EH2 2AA Edinburgh and will run as follows:

  • Monday 20 September – hearings begin with opening statements
  • Hearings to run from Monday to Friday, from Monday 20 September to Friday 8 October (3 weeks)
  • Break for two weeks from Monday 11 to Friday 22 October
  • Hearings to run from Monday to Friday, from 25 October to Friday 05 November (2 weeks)

A weekly timetable will be published on the Inquiry’s website www.hospitalsinquiry.scot detailing each week’s programme.



Inquiry proceedings can be viewed remotely via this link.


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