Taxpayers to foot eye-watering £170m bill to fix SNP hospital hit by UK’s worst infections scandal

Repairs to Scotland's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow are expected to cost taxpayers around £170million, following the site's involvement in the UK's worst hospital infections scandal. The Freedom of Information disclosure comes shortly after NHS bosses acknowledged, after six years of denial, that contaminated water at the hospital was likely linked to serious infections in young cancer patients, and adds to long-running concerns from politicians and campaigners that the £1billion building remains unsafe.

Internal briefings obtained by The Mail on Sunday show a further £120million of "rectification works" are needed at the hospital and its adjoining children's facility, on top of £50million already spent, including a new bone marrow transplant unit after the existing one suffered leaks and mould. Police are investigating the deaths of three children and four adults who contracted infections, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde named a suspect in a corporate homicide probe, while a separate public inquiry into the scandal has itself cost at least £32million. Scottish Conservative and Labour politicians have demanded transparency over how the money will be spent, though NHSGGC has not confirmed the specific breakdown of costs.