Portakabin hospital ward faces further delay after safety review

The modular buildings for the new hospital ward were supplied by the firm Portakabin

Health bosses have admitted they still don’t know when a delayed new hospital ward made up of buildings supplied by the firm Portakabin will open.

The 30-bed ward at Forth Valley Royal Hospital for patients getting knee and hip operations was largely finished last year.

However, a safety review found ventilation, fire safety and flooding problems and the project was halted.

A technical solution to these issues has still to be approved and NHS Forth Valley said it can’t say when the ward will open until this happens.

The ward was originally due to open at the hospital in Larbert in 2022 as part of a new National Treatment Centre (NTC) aimed at increasing capacity for operations.

But work did not start until 2022 and the project has faced further delays.

Last year construction watchdog NHS Assure said it could not support the ward project going forward without changes.

Its inspectors found two significant and 19 major issues with the project, including a lack of detail within the fire strategy, non-compliance with some NHS guidance and a lack of detail on pre-commissioning checks.

NHS Assure - set up to monitor the quality, safety and running of health board construction projects - concluded if the issues were not addressed they could "potentially compromise the safety of patients and staff".

Without a satisfactory NHS Assure review, new health facilities are not allowed to open to the public.

A computer-generated image of what the new modular ward at Forth Valley Royal Hospital will look like when completed

Two additional operating theatres, and a MRI scanner to increase surgical and diagnostic capacity, were installed at Forth Valley Royal Hospital as part of the NTC project and are already up and running.

A spokeswoman for NHS Forth Valley said: "Over the last few months, work has been undertaken with the contractor and NHS Assure to address the remaining outstanding technical issues relating to the pipework and fire compliance regulations.

"A potential solution has been submitted to building control for review and we are currently awaiting feedback.

"Once a solution has been approved and agreed by all parties, a detailed workplan will be developed to take forward the required changes along with a timetable for the completion of this work."

The spokeswoman added arrangements are in place to support the delivery of additional orthopaedic activity for patients from other NHS boards until the new inpatient ward is operational.

NHS Forth Valley said the project's capital costs remain within the original estimated budget of around £10m.