Reviews / 2025
Scottish Hospitals Inquiry
Lord Brodie · work from 2020 · published 2025
What this was
Statutory inquiry into the planning, design, construction and maintenance of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, and the effect on patients. An interim report on the Edinburgh hospital in March 2025 made 11 recommendations, which the Scottish Government accepted. The final report, largely about Glasgow, had not been published by October 2026. Lord Brodie said in June 2026 that it was still being written.
Why it sits in the hub
It puts the building itself on the inquiry record: ventilation, water, infection, and whether families were respected. The Amos maternity investigation later made estates and digital systems a national maternity recommendation.
Findings
Finding 1
The Edinburgh children's hospital opened late after problems with ventilation and the built environment. Families and clinicians in Glasgow described infections and a long period of not being believed.
Finding 2
Governance of a major NHS construction project did not keep patient safety in view.
Recommendations in this hub
The source reports 11 recommendations or essential actions. The notes below are a paraphrase, not the official text.
- 1In progressScottish Government and NHS boards
The interim report's 11 recommendations addressed ventilation failures and NHS Lothian governance. The Scottish Government accepted all 11.
Accepted in March 2025. A public tracker later described delivery as incomplete.
- 2Awaiting responseScottish Government
The final report is expected to cover water, ventilation, infection and the current safety of the Glasgow hospitals, and to recommend how future NHS infrastructure projects avoid the same mistakes.