A simple spreadsheet error cost the NHS millions

(Image credit: Shutterstock / 200dgr)

A simple spreadsheet error led to the delayed opening of a new £150 million hospital in Edinburgh last year, an investigation has uncovered.

According to an inquiry commissioned by NHS Lothian, a data entry mistake in a spreadsheet that contained information about air flow requirements resulted in serious construction errors that had to be later remedied.

The ventilation insufficiencies discovered at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, brought about by “human error”, have since cost the NHS £16 million in repair fees.

Spreadsheet error

The new children’s hospital was originally set to open in autumn of 2017, but has been pushed back repeatedly by a series of issues - the latest of which was caused by the erroneous spreadsheet.

The independent review, conducted by professional services firm Grant Thornton, found a collection of failures resulted in the hospital’s inability to comply with ventilation requirements, designed to prevent the spread of infection.

Ventilation systems in critical care rooms are required to cycle out air ten times per hour, but the spreadsheet mishap meant contractors installed a system only capable of four air changes. 

“This looks to be, based on our review, human error in copying across the four-bedded room generic ventilation criteria into the critical care room details,” explained the Grant Thornton report.

With work on the faulty ventilation system complete, the hospital’s Sick Kids building began taking appointments in July, but still does not host any inpatients.

The grand opening, most recently set for autumn this year, will now undergo a further review, factoring in coronavirus-related considerations.

Calum Campbell, CEO of NHS Lothian, believes the inquiry will go some way to ensuring similar problems do not hamper future NHS projects and therefore result in unnecessary expenditure, as has been the case here.

“Recommendations in relation to decision making, clarity, clinical engagement and involvement of external advisers have been made. Some areas identified have already been addressed and others will be implemented within the agreed timeframes to ensure that future capital projects will benefit,” he said.

Via BBC

Joel Khalili
News and Features Editor

Joel Khalili is the News and Features Editor at TechRadar Pro, covering cybersecurity, data privacy, cloud, AI, blockchain, internet infrastructure, 5G, data storage and computing. He's responsible for curating our news content, as well as commissioning and producing features on the technologies that are transforming the way the world does business.

Latest in Software & Services
woman listening to computer
AWS vs Azure: choosing the right platform to maximize your company's investment
A person at a desktop computer working on spreadsheet tables.
Trello vs Jira: which project management solution is best for you?
Autonomous finance
Quickbooks vs Quicken: what are the main strengths and weaknesses for your business
finance
Quickbooks vs Xero: which is the best for your business?
Group of people meeting
Zoom vs Google Meet: which is the best video conferencing tool for your business?
Fingers typing on a computer keyboard.
Microsoft 365 Personal vs Microsoft 365 Family: are there any real differences?
Latest in News
Pebble smartwatch countdown
Pebble confirms its smartwatch announcement is just hours away
Logo of YouTube Shorts
Is YouTube auto-playing Shorts when you open the app? Well, you’re not alone - here’s how to fix it
Google DeepMind panel discussion
“More sovereignty and protection” - Google goes all-in on UK AI with data residency, upskilling projects, and startup investments
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 expected to have AI upscaling and I can't wait to finally play Tears of the Kingdom with upgraded graphics
PowerColor Red Devil AMD RX 9070 XT graphics card shown side-on
Your next GPU could be from AMD, not Nvidia, if Team Red’s success with PC gamers continues
Intel Lunar Lake concept
Intel's Panther Lake processors won't arrive until Q1 2026 - corroborates previous delay rumors despite former Intel CEO's promise of 2025 launch