Sick Kids

[ICTChris]

 

Edinburgh’s new Sick Kids hospital has been indefinitely delayed due to issues with the ventilation in the new building. The existing hospital will remain open while investigations are ongoing.

 

It’s a strange story - NHS Lothian wanted to open but the Health Secretary overruled them and now no date can be given for opening. The HS made a statement today that an investigation to work out the extent of the problems is progressing, which basically means nothing. The Unison health services secretary said he doubts the hospital will ever open and claimed there were problems with the drainage at the site as well.

 

It’s surprising that the hospital came so close to opening before the issues came to light. Either the issues with ventilation were there and they were swept under the carpet or people involved thought they could fix them by opening date but couldn’t. Also, if there are further issues with the drainage that are now being delayed then why weren’t they part of the reason for the initial delays? While looking into this I found a story from last year about potential legal action between NHS Lothian and the consortium building the new hospital about ventilation- (https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16191842.revealed-nhs-lothian-threatens-consortium-with-legal-action-over-troubled-sick-kids-hospital/)

 

There has also been news regarding the cost of the hospital, with NHS Lothian paying £1.4m a month to the consortium who built the hospital, Integrated Health Solutions Lothian (IHSL), despite the situation. The hospital is advertised as costing £150m but the contract with IHSL will end up costing over £400m when fees and maintenance are taken into account, sounding quite similar to the deal for the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

 

The current, antiquated, site for the Sick Kids just off the meadows will remain open although it’s been sold for student flats (what else in Edinburgh). Assume there might have to a conversation with the buyers, surely even a property developer wouldn’t try and evict a children’s hospital for a few quid?

 

My own son is due for a minor operation which has been cancelled a couple of times and we got a date at the new Sick Kids only to turn on the television that day to see it wasn’t getting opened. We’ve had it rescheduled because he has a bug and it’ll be in the old Sick Kids. It’s no big deal for us but could make a difference to people who have more urgent requirements or transport needs.

 

Have any P&Bers been affected by the issues with Sick Kids?

How would PBers suggest sorting the seemingly endemic issues with infrastructure projects like this?

 

 

[Cyclizine]

They've stopped work on the new women's hospital in Aberdeen after clearing the site. I suspect the current issues in our 'flagship' Health Boards of Lothian and GGC have led to a full review of the plans rather than ploughing on with the usual contractors.

[ForzaDundee]

5 minutes ago, MixuFixit said:

It's a total shambles. Having been involved in something like this on a smaller scale with much lower stakes, guys on the ground will have repeatedly raised concerns (if they were clever they will have this documented) only for management to make it clear the deadline won't be moving. I guess Welly find out in the inevitable inquiry.

Guys on the ground probably too busy standing about scratching their arses which is why timelines slip and snags arise.

[sophia]

It's a great one for the bad brigade.

The semi coherent union guy on radio Scotland this morning did what union spokespersons seem always to do and that is give some exaggerated account that is indulged by the interviewer and then there follows an interview with a blue or a red who always want an enquiry to the obvious and complete shambles that the minister must take full responsibility for.

After the news, there will be an interview with the minister who will attempt to bring some nuance into the picture, as best as they can, as they are often bound by some sort of dilemma that might involve contractual confidentiality. After all, one wouldn't want to blurt out a Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe gaff and wreck everything, that would be preposterous.

That sets the agenda and then we'll have a professor or a trade expert that will give a subjective opinion masquerading as cold fact. Today we had one that seemed to hold the opinion that the standard practice of setting liquidated damages as part of a contract is a very bad thing, whereas it's a necessary tool to ensure that there is no incentive to drift to lateness. The real issue is the inability of individuals and groups to work collaboratively. This is especially the case in any industry that involves civil engineering.

Edited August 5, 2019 by sophia
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[pandarilla]

Arseholes promoted to positions way out of their depth by bluff and bluster?

Usually the situation when these things go wrong.

[ForzaDundee]

3 minutes ago, This time Perthshirebell said:

DON'T BUILD HOSPITALS ON FLOOD PLAINS

DON'T BUILD SCHOOL ON RADIATION DUMPS.   

 

DON'T TAKE CAP LOCKS OFF

[welshbairn]

4 hours ago, sophia said:

The real issue is the inability of individuals and groups to work collaboratively. This is especially the case in any industry that involves civil engineering.

This. Maybe blame deflection is more fun than getting things done right.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

Multiplex eh? 

Not like they've been involved in hugely delayed projects before......