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THE Scottish Hospitals Inquiry has announced a series of public hearings scheduled for next year.
Starting in April, evidence will be taken relating to the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department for Clinical Neurosciences (RHCYP/DCN) Edinburgh.
This will be followed by a hearing in the June relating to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Campus (QEUH), Glasgow.
Chair of the independent inquiry, Lord Brodie, said, “Setting dates for hearings in 2023 has been made possible by the hard work and dedication of the Inquiry’s team throughout the past months.
“They continue to work with all those who can provide relevant information to ingather and analyse that information and progress our investigations into both hospitals.
“This work informs the identification of those from whom we wish to take witness statements and the questions we seek to have answered.
“I am grateful to all those who have provided us with statements, especially those on the frontline of the NHS.
“The detailed programme for the hearing in relation to the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Department for Clinical Neurosciences will be published in early 2023.”
The Inquiry has already heard expert evidence relating to the Edinburgh site focusing on the need for a new hospital, the suitability of the site, as well as decision making and governance.
The April 2023 hearings will focus on development of reference design, the procurement process, and conclusion of the contract.
At a future date the Inquiry will examine why RHCYP was not opened in 2019, and then the reasoning to open in 2021.
The investigations will consider the problems and potential defects identified with the key building systems in 2019, the remedial scheme adopted to address these issues, and the reasoning behind the decision taken by the then cabinet secretary for health and sport to fully open the hospital in 2021.
Affected patients and family members have given evidence relating the to the QEUH campus examining how they were impacted during treatment at the hospital.
The next set of Glasgow hearings, scheduled for June, will focus on the testimony of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde nursing and clinical staff.
The Scottish Hospital 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.
The inquiry will also examine the impacts 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 also make recommendations to ensure any past mistakes are not repeated in future NHS infrastructure projects.
