by Calum Watson, of BBC Scotland News
Wall panels and insulation at two new Aberdeen hospital facilities have had to be ripped out because of mould before the buildings receive their first patients.
This follows on from revelations that the scandal-hit, so-called showpiece, £1 billion Queen Elizabeth and Royal Children’s Hospital, which serves West Dunbartonshire, where patients have died, were similarly afflicted.
Infection control teams sounded the alarm at the Baird Family Hospital and The Anchor Centre cancer unit after construction materials were allowed to get wet, BBC Scotland News has learned.
The experts warned that dormant mould spores could reactivate when the overbudget and delayed facilities finally open, posing a health hazard for the lifetime of the buildings.
NHS Grampian said all the mouldy materials have now been removed and it was confident patient safety would not be compromised.
The new maternity hospital and cancer treatment centre were originally meant to open in 2020, but construction did not start until 2021, and costs have risen from £134m to more than £438m.
The Anchor Centre is currently scheduled to open in July, while the Baird Family Hospital is due to start receiving patients in June next year.
Inspections revealed that some panels were already mouldy and there was a risk that any materials that had got wet could be harbouring fungal spores, according to internal reports seen by BBC News.
Testing revealed the most common species was penicillium chrysogenum.
additional reporting by Bill Heaney