Latest news with #LouiseSlorance
Daily Record
19 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Record
NHS chiefs gave £250k bonus to firm behind infection scandal QEUH hospital
Brookfield Multiplex, which is now being sued by NHS Greater Glasgow, was awarded the huge sum for making the hospital environmentally friendly. Health chiefs gave a £250,000 eco-bonus to a firm it is now suing over its defective superhospital. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) paid Brookfield Multiplex for achieving certain environmental credentials at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH), despite the site being riddled with problems. A public inquiry is looking at issues with the construction of the £842million facility where dozens of patients developed rare infections and some people died. Evidence heard by the inquiry showed a £250,000 payment was included in the contract if the developers hit energy consumption targets, known as 'Breeam'. The QEUH was given a Breeam rating of 'excellent' when it was finished, meeting the UK-wide government aim at the time. Louise Slorance's government advisor husband Andrew died while awaiting a bone marrow transplant in 2020. She said: 'Families have suffered harm and death as a result of substandard systems at the QEUH. 'The realisation the lives of our loved ones were worth just £250,000 is yet another gut punch.' To meet their targets contractors used a temperature control system called chilled beams. Specialist healthcare architect Emma White described it as 'a more innovative and sustainable way of cooling rooms which required less energy…'. The inquiry previously heard these chilled beams developed a problem with leaking and water ended up dripping into wards. NHSGGC is suing Brookfield Multiplex for the flaws at the site with £18.2million added to their compensation claim for problems with the chilled beam system. Documents submitted by White showed contractors also agreed having an air circulation rate required by healthcare watchdogs was 'energy intensive and not necessary'. Dozens of patients were infected with water-related and airborne bugs at the QEUH. Some died including Milly Main, 10, and Gail Armstrong, 73, whose deaths are being probed by the police. NHSGGC is a suspect in the corporate homicide probe into their deaths and the deaths of two other patients. Louise said: 'Despite some witnesses stating green standards were not prioritised over patient safety, our experience tells a different story. "Sealed windows, low air turnovers and temperature control units using water were chosen for their environmental credentials yet they negatively impacted on the safety of our family members. Some never saw outside the hospital again and for others, the harm continues to this day.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: 'The deaths at the QEUH are the worst scandal in the history of devolution and it is outrageous that the contractors behind the building were rewarded for their failure. These payments make it clear the management of this project was utterly dysfunctional from day one and building safety was not made a priority. 'There can be no more secrecy and cover-up from the SNP – bereaved families and the Scottish public deserve to know the truth.' NHSGGC said matters relating to QEUH's construction are 'part of the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry and we continue to support them in their ongoing investigations'. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
Glasgow Queen Elizabeth hospital had most Covid deaths probed by Crown Office
Prosecutors are probing the deaths at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital as part of a wider investigation from the pandemic. A Glasgow flagship hospital had the highest number of Covid deaths probed by the Crown Office, it has been revealed. Prosecutors are probing the deaths at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital as part of a wider investigation from the pandemic. As well as hospital settings, care homes are also being looked into. NHS Glasgow Greater Glasgow and Clyde have been warned that it has questions to answer about why such a significant number of Covid deaths are being probed at its hospitals. A total of 133 cases are still being looked at - a 43% of the entire total. Louise Slorance, whose husband Andrew died at the QEUH in 2020 after contracting Covid during cancer treatment, is still seeking answers from the health board about his death. She blames them for him catching the disease despite being in isolation. She wrote on X: "COPFS Covid deaths investigation team (CDIT) statistics on COVID deaths in hospitals offer some important insights, namely on our largest health board, NHS GGC & the effectiveness of @scotgov flagship super hospital, the QEUH. 43% of the death investigations being carried out by CDIT are in NHS GGC hospitals. "30% of these deaths occurred at the QEUH. The QEUH has just 22% of GGC's bed capacity. The disproportionate nature of QEUH COVID deaths is only exacerbated when you consider this is a single bedded hospital. As the Project Director for the #QEUH told the @ScotHospInquiry last week single rooms are the optimum for stopping the transfer of infection. "Single bedrooms alone should have led to lower nosocomial COVID infection. Add in state of the art facilities (that's what we were told, not what was provided) & COVID mitigations, the expectation must be a lower rate than other older hospitals & the lowest across Scotland. "Yet here we are with Scotland's flagship QEUH hospital with the highest number of COVID deaths reported to COPFS and, CDIT investigations second only to another GGC ran hospital the GRI. Explanations must be provided for this anomaly." NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We would like to offer our condolences to the loved ones of any patient who has died. As well as looking after a core population of more than 1.3 million, hospitals across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde offer a range of highly specialised regional and national services for people throughout Scotland. "This means that a high proportion of the sickest patients in the country are treated at our hospitals, and we would like to thank our highly skilled and dedicated staff who do all they can to care for these patients in challenging circumstances. "Latest Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio figures from Public Health Scotland show that, despite looking after this high concentration of the most vulnerable patients, NHSGGC has the lowest crude mortality rate of any health board in Scotland outside NHS Shetland. "Any suggestion that COVID deaths at our hospitals could be attributed to any issues with the standard of care, without taking into account this high concentration of these most vulnerable patients, would be inaccurate and misleading, as well as being insulting and upsetting for our hard-working staff."
