EWS | DIGEST Scottish hospital inquiry into ventilation and water safety An independent inquiry into two hospitals beset by contaminated air and water supplies has started hearing evidence. It was ordered after patients died at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Campus in Glasgow from infections linked to pigeon droppings in the water supply, and the opening of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh was delayed because of concerns over the ventilation system. The inquiry will determine how the issues affected patient safety and care, and whether they could have been prevented. It will make recommendations to ensure any past mistakes are not repeated in future NHS infrastructure projects. Inquiry chair Lord Brodie said: Our role is to understand what went wrong with the construction of these hospitals so lessons can be learned to prevent the recurrence of such issues in the future. Grenfell suppliers exploited Lead contractor Rydon accuses manufacturers at public inquiry The lead contractor on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment has accused its suppliers of regulations to provide unsafe products and services during the project. Rydon told the public inquiry that it had relied on cladding and insulation manufacturers to sell safe materials and the architect to better Job vacancies hit all-time high Job vacancies in construction have risen to their highest level since official records began 20 years ago. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the reopening of the sector has created unprecedented competition for workers and put supply chains under intense delivery pressures. From June to August, the number of vacancies rose to 37,000, more than 15% higher than March to May and more than double the same period a year ago. This equates to around 2.4 vacancies per 100 jobs. The Grenfell families barrister said there had been a total neglect of safety The companys lawyer, Marcus Taverner QC, said the regulations were confusing and this left them open to deliberate exploitation by manufacturers such as [cladding manufacturer] Arconic, [insulation manufacturer] Celotex, [insulation manufacturer] Kingspan and [cavity barrier supplier] Siderise to sell dangerous products. He said Rydon had also trusted the architect, Studio E, and faade expert Harley to do a better job. However, Kingspan said it had explained that its K15 insulation could only be used on projects such as Grenfell Tower if additional tests were carried out. It added that it was a matter for designers, cladding contractors and architects to decide how it should be used. Arconic claimed its products could be used in safe ways, but they had been combined with unsafe components at Grenfell. Celotex also said there was no evidence that it had misled the project team and the responsibility for the problems lay with the contractors. Siderise added that it only had responsibility for one component, so was not responsible for carrying out safety tests on the whole installation. However, a barrister representing the Grenfell families blamed all the parties involved and said there had been a total neglect of safety. Stephanie Barwise QC described the design team as inept and the consultants as hapless She added that some workers and contractors were reckless and accused others of fraud. Grenfell demonstrates the existence of a culture of non-compliance within certain sectors of the construction industry. Put bluntly, there is a kind of recklessness as to whether or not compliance is achieved, said Barwise. 8 October 2021 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Oct21 pp08-09 News.indd 8 24/09/2021 16:04