Staffing costs at the delayed Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh have amounted to almost £140,000 a month.
NHS Lothian bosses revealed that between March to August last year the staffing bill at the hospital came to £834,000 – the equivalent of £139,000 a month over the period.
There were 137 domestic, catering and logistics staff employed on either a full-time or part-time basis.
READ MORE: NHS Lothian chairman resigns over delays to new children's hospital
The costs were revealed in answer to a freedom of information request from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, with party health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton complaining the “colossal costs of the Sick Kids ghost hospital continue to grow”.
NHS Lothian has been paying £1.35 million a month for the new hospital since February 2019, when the property was formally handed over.
It was due to open in July 2019 but Health Secretary Jeane Freeman halted the move from the existing hospital site after final compliance checks revealed the ventilation system within the critical care department of the new building did not meet the necessary standards.
As well as spending on staff, NHS Lothian has also incurred more than £10,000 in costs training the security/helipad response team.
The figures were made public days after Brian Houston stepped down as chairman of NHS Lothian.
Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “Patients and the public will be dismayed to find the colossal costs of the Sick Kids ghost hospital continue to grow.
“They’ve been in possession of an empty building for 11 months, at a cost of over £12 million so far.
“Now we discover we’re shelling out £140,000 a month on top of that to have staff help run and cater a hospital without a single patient.”
READ MORE: Scottish health boards ordered to make staff satisfaction improvements
He added: “It’s unbelievable how much money has been wasted in this project because of sloppy management and systematic failings.
“The Scottish Government needs to ensure there is full transparency about how much money is being poured into this project and it must continue to provide updates on the remedial work and when patients will actually be able to use the new facilities.”
A public inquiry has already been announced to examine issues at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
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