Brookfield Multiplex designed and built the £575 million Queen Elizabeth University Hospital complex in Glasgow.

However, there have been various problems at the hospital since it opened in 2015.

A public inquiry into issues surrounding the construction of the campus as well as the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) in Edinburgh will be led by Lord Brodie and report to the Scottish Parliament in the New Year.

Now lawyers have been instructed to take legal action against the contractor “as a matter of urgency”.

The health authority was last month placed in “special measures” after issues relating to infection prevention, as well as management and control at the hospitals.

The move followed the news of the death of two children at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC), which is part of the complex. They died in 2017, having been treated on a ward that was affected by water contamination.

Scottish Labour health spokesperson Monica Lennon said: “This is a significant development, and is confirmation of the very serious concerns over the design and fabric of the building at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.  

“It’s important that the public inquiry Scottish Labour pushed for gets to the bottom of this once and for all – including what the health board knew at the time the hospital was signed over.

“But most importantly, the public needs to have confidence that this building is safe for patients now. Parents and families of patients currently at the Queen Elizabeth continue to raise concerns, and Jeane Freeman must act to escalate the board and move aside the current leadership.”