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An On the wire story
A scientist who helped develop Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) has told the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry that warnings he raised about safety were left unresolved for years.
Dr Michael Bradnam said problems involving ventilation, electrical systems and humidity control were repeatedly raised during the hospital’s development, according to BBC News, which reported that he described a 15-year effort to get those concerns addressed.
The inquiry is examining long-running questions over the QEUH campus, including infections linked to the site and wider concerns about water, drainage and ventilation systems.
Its published background material says the investigation was set up to determine how those issues affected patient safety and care at the Glasgow hospital and at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, with the aim of preventing similar failures in future NHS projects.
A provisional position paper published by the inquiry sets out its understanding of the history of infection concerns at the Glasgow campus and forms part of a wider evidential framework for the hearings. The paper focuses on the incidence of infections and the safety of the building systems that were supposed to protect vulnerable patients.
The case has already prompted earlier reviews, including a June 2020 report that found patients, staff and visitors with weakened immune systems faced risks that could have been reduced if design, construction and commissioning had been handled properly.
The inquiry continues to test how those failures emerged, who knew what and when, and why repeated warnings did not lead to earlier action.
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