Were there originally two scottish hospital inquiries
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Executive summary
There was not originally two separate public inquiries announced; the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry set up in 2019/2020 has from the start covered both the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh [1] [2]. The single statutory inquiry, chaired by Lord Brodie and established under the Inquiries Act 2005, has produced interim reporting and staged hearings on both Glasgow and Edinburgh matters through 2024–25 [1] [3] [2].
1. How the inquiry was set up — one inquiry, two hospital sites
The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry was announced in late 2019 and formally commenced work in 2020 with Lord Brodie appointed chair; its remit explicitly covers the construction and safety-related issues at both the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh, meaning it was designed from the outset as a single statutory inquiry examining two hospital projects [1] [4] [2].
2. Why people might think “two inquiries” existed
Confusion has arisen because the inquiry conducts separate strands or hearing blocks focused on the Glasgow and Edinburgh sites, and it issues an interim report and staged hearings that give the appearance of distinct investigations. Reporting and parliamentary briefings reference separate Glasgow and Edinburgh hearings and an interim report that explicitly states it does not conclude all work, reinforcing the impression of two parallel probes [3] [5] [2].
3. What the interim report and hearings reveal about scope
The inquiry’s interim report and the hearing schedule show thematic and site-specific workstreams — ventilation, construction procurement, delayed opening and patient safety — applied to the Edinburgh RHCYP/DCN and the Glasgow QEUH campus. The interim report notes core participants for the Edinburgh elements and states the inquiry continues investigations into Glasgow matters, underscoring a single inquiry handling multiple, discrete technical lines of inquiry [3] [6] [5].
4. Legal and procedural form: one statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005
The mechanism is a statutory public inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 with powers to compel witnesses and documents; that statutory form and Lord Brodie’s appointment confirm a single legal vehicle rather than two separate public inquiries [1] [4].
5. Media and political coverage that amplifies separation
News outlets and parliamentary debate often frame coverage by site — for example BBC reporting on resumed hearings and the separate problems at Edinburgh and Glasgow, and parliamentary statements about the interim report — which reinforces the public impression of two probes even though they are parts of the one inquiry [7] [5] [8].
6. Disagreements and legal challenges that complicate the picture
There have been contested procedural moments — for instance judicial review proceedings over evidential rulings and challenges to the inquiry’s refusal to admit specific expert evidence — that can make the process seem fragmented and fuel perceptions that separate processes are underway [9]. Available sources do not mention the existence of two originally separate statutory inquiries; they only document one inquiry with multiple strands (not found in current reporting).
7. Costs and public scrutiny intensify perceptions of multiple probes
Public discussion of inquiry costs and multiple ongoing Scottish inquiries generally has blurred public understanding. Reporting on the rising bill for all Scottish public inquiries and headline figures attributed to the hospitals probe make the single inquiry seem part of a larger set of investigations, which can be misread as multiple inquiries into the same hospitals [10] [11].
8. Bottom line for readers seeking clarity
Official documents and major reporting show there was a single Scottish Hospitals Inquiry created to examine both Glasgow and Edinburgh hospital projects under one chair and legal framework [1] [3] [2]. The inquiry’s structure — separate hearing blocks, technical sub-themes, and staged interim reporting — explains why many sources and members of the public have talked about the “Glasgow inquiry” and the “Edinburgh inquiry” as if they were separate, but that is shorthand for site-specific parts of one statutory investigation [3] [7].
Limitations: this account is based solely on the provided sources; available sources do not mention any separate statutory public inquiry having been originally established for either hospital outside the single Scottish Hospitals Inquiry described above (not found in current reporting).