The hearings are scheduled to start on 20 September and planned to last around three weeks. They will be an opportunity for those who have been affected by issues at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Campus, Glasgow, and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Edinburgh to share their experiences.

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry will look into issues such as ventilation, water contamination and other matters and consider how they could have been prevented. It will examine how these issues not only impacted on patients and their families, but also whether the buildings provided a suitable environment for the delivery of safe and effective care.

Lord Brodie, chair of the inquiry, said: “The first priority of the Inquiry is to understand the experiences of affected patients and their families and this evidence will be crucial. As such, it is the focus of our first series of hearings this autumn.”

Anyone who may have been affected or has information relevant to the Inquiry can contact the dedicated phone line on 0808 196 5000 to speak with a team member, or email: public@hospitalsinquiry.scot.