Spreadsheet "typo" delayed opening of new Sick Kids Hospital

A children's hospital was delayed after a mistake in a spreadsheet several years previously was not amended, a report has found.

The Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh was due to open in July 2019 but Scotland's Health Secretary Jeane Freeman halted the move from the existing hospital site after final compliance checks revealed the ventilation system within the critical care department of the new building did not meet the necessary standards.

A review commissioned by NHS Lothian found that an 'environmental matrix' spreadsheet in 2012 wrongly stated the air change rate in critical care rooms should be four changes per hour, rather than 10.

It said this appears to be 'human error in copying across the four-bedded room generic ventilation criteria into the critical care room detail.'

The error was not corrected over the years and the report said that the settlement signed by NHS Lothian in February 2019 'cemented the error contractually.'

The report, by auditors Grant Thornton, stated: 'Based on our review of the comments across each version of the matrix, no explicit concern was noted on the environmental matrix recording that what was set out in the matrix for critical care was incorrect.

'This remained the case throughout the entire project.'

In its overall conclusion, the review said: 'Our review identified a collective failure from the parties involved. It is not possible to identify one single event which resulted in the errors as there were several contributing events.

'Additionally, there were a series of factors external to NHS Lothian which influenced and shaped the project which were not within the direct control of NHS Lothian. These factors contributed to the complexity.'

The report said a determining factor in the project was the decision, taken in 2010, to have twenty, four-bedded rooms.

It said three of these rooms were designed within critical care and therefore required different ventilation to achieve 10 air changes per hour but 'this was missed from the outset of the project and remained unidentified until June 2019.'

Calum Campbell, chief executive of NHS Lothian, said: "We would like to acknowledge the extent of analysis that the chief internal auditor has undertaken, particularly the review of complex and significant documentation which relates to the project and spans 12 years.

"Recommendations in relation to decision-making, clarity, clinical engagement and involvement of external advisers have been made.

"Some areas identified have already been addressed and others will be implemented within the agreed time frames to ensure that future capital projects will benefit.

"The department of clinical neurosciences and children's outpatient services have already settled into their new home and we are looking forward to the full opening as soon as possible."

Donald Cameron MSP, Scottish Conservative Shadow Health Secretary commented: "This must be one of the costliest human errors in history when it comes to a project being delayed.

"For years, children and families have been waiting patiently for a new Sick Kids Hospital only to find it has been delayed again and again.

"To now discover that this delay was down to a mistake in a spreadsheet is absolutely astonishing, and frankly beggars belief.

"The whole episode of the new Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh has been woefully mishandled by the SNP Government and the current inquiry must ensure that those responsible do not get away with their collective failures.

"For a mistake like this to lead to a delay of eight years in opening this hospital shows a complete lack of accountability and management at the heart of this project, and it's now even more important that Jeane Freeman gives answers to the very serious questions raised by these new revelations."

Scottish Liberal Democrats health spokesman, and Edinburgh Western MSP, Alex Cole-Hamilton added: "Patients and the public will be dismayed to see the colossal costs of the Sick Kids ghost hospital continue to mount up.

"It’s unbelievable how much money has been wasted in this project because of sloppy management, systematic failings and poor oversight. This must be up there as one of the most expensive typos in history.

"This has been a catastrophic episode start to finish. The public purse has taken a severe hit and the staff and patients of the sick kids who were promised a brand new facility are still not in it.

"It's extremely frustrating to see a multi-million pound custom built hospital sitting empty because of simple mistakes and a failure to spot them. At this point of acute crisis we could have used the extra NHS facility more than ever."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman told Radio Forth: "The safety and wellbeing of all patients and their families is our top priority and should be the primary consideration in all NHS construction projects.

"A public inquiry is under way to help us understand the issues that affected both the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus site in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences site in Edinburgh.

"It will also make recommendations to ensure that any past mistakes are not repeated in future NHS infrastructure projects."