Multiplex hospital probe frustrates spending watchdog

The Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) in Edinburgh

Scotland’s public spending watchdog says it is still waiting for answers about technical failings on the delayed ‘Sick Kids’ hospital in Edinburgh.

The £150m Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) was originally supposed to open in 2017 but will now not open until autumn 2020 after problems with ventilation and drainage in the building, which the Scottish government has blamed on human error in the 2012 tender documents.

• Public inquiry into two Multiplex hospitals

Now the Auditor General for Scotland has issued a statement saying that the reviews to date into problems on the hospital have failed to identify why chances to spot the errors were missed and why specifications in the hospital’s 2012 tender papers were inconsistent with national ventilation guidelines for critical care areas.

The Auditor General’s report sets out the facts as they are known so far and draws on the reviews already carried out by KPMG and NHS National Services Scotland, as well as NHS Lothian’s annual audit report.

It comes ahead of a public inquiry into the hospital project. The Auditor General added that the report raises broader issues for consideration, including:

• the clarity and application of the national ventilation guidelines, and how they were managed
• the effectiveness of the oversight and scrutiny of the project
• the role of all the parties involved, including project company IHSL’s construction arm, Brookfield Multiplex, who also built the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow.

Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland said: "It’s clear that the checks and balances around the construction of the new children’s hospital didn’t work, and the public inquiry may want to consider why that happened after similar issues had emerged around the building of schools in Edinburgh.

"It would also be beneficial to understand the role played by all the parties involved, and to explore why the issues that emerged at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth hospital didn’t prompt greater scrutiny in Edinburgh."

IHSL (Integrated Health Services Lothian) was the company set up to design, finance, build and maintain the RHCYP. It comprised Macquarie Capital and Dalmore along with their contractors: Brookfield Multiplex, Bouygues Energies and Services and HCP Management Services.