Concern over maintenance at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

Concerns have been raised over maintenance standards at one of Scotland's biggest hospitals.

NHS Lothian has started formal dispute proceedings against Consort Healthcare, the private owner and operator of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE).

The health board has handed Consort a list of infrastructure issues that it says need to be rectified.

The RIE is 20-years-old and was built under the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme.

NHS Lothian said it was in dispute over the nature and delivery of the maintenance and upgrades required for the hospital but was "working closely" with Consort to address them.

However, the health board also warned it could, if necessary, retain some of the PFI payments to Consort if the issues are not satisfactorily resolved.

The issue has been placed on NHS Lothian's risk register, where it warns there is a "risk that facilities in the RIE are not fit for purpose because of a failure to carry out required life cycle works and maintenance of the estate".

The risk register lists heating, ventilation, water and window maintenance as some of the "life cycle works" that could present a problem.

NHS Lothian said the risk register entry is not a statement of actual present issues but is used to "anticipate and mitigate worst-case scenarios".

The PFI deal with Consort is expected to have cost the taxpayer more than £1bn by the time it expires in 2028.

At that stage the deal with Consort to run and maintain the hospital can be extended for 25 years or NHS Lothian will have to negotiate a price to buy the facility.

A spokesman for the trade union Unison, which has long campaigned against PFI deals, said: "No one should be surprised that as their opportunity to extract cash draws to a close that profiteers will try and squeeze more revenue from the public purse.

"This problem will be a recurring feature until we have public services run by the public sector for the public good rather than an ongoing cash cow for shareholders."

Susan Goldsmith, director of finance at NHS Lothian, said: "As part of an ongoing process of infrastructure management, we have identified areas where NHS Lothian considers maintenance or replacements are required.

"We are working closely with Consort who have proposed a programme of maintenance works and some upgrades of critical systems.

"We are currently in dispute with our PFI providers on the nature and delivery of the works programme and if successful, we can deploy contractual levers to effect resolution, such as the retention of elements of the unitary payment."

Consort Healthcare has been approached for comment.