The SNP Government is under pressure to explain why a multinational company hired to dispose of NHS waste was “bailed out” with millions of taxpayers’ cash.
Spanish-owned Tradebe signed a £120m contract in 2019 to dispose of hazardous waste, including human remains, from every hospital, GP surgery and pharmacy in Scotland.
But clinical waste ended up being sent south of the border in 2021 to be disposed of after a massive blaze gutted the company’s processing plant in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire.
It can now be revealed Tradebe received an additional £5.4m from National Services Scotland (NSS), which handles third-party contracts for the NHS, in the years after the devastating fire.
Labour said today it proved SNP ministers had failed to implement a sustainable plan to manage Scotland’s clinical waste following a previous scandal in 2018 that saw tonnes of human remains left piled up in a warehouse.
Jackie Baillie, the party’s health spokeswoman, said: “Scottish Labour warned the SNP Government at the time not to rush through any contract award to Tradebe without proper due diligence. Sadly, our warnings proved correct and the taxpayer is footing the bill.”
Tradebe picked up a 10-year contract in 2019 after the collapse of Healthcare Environmental Services (HES), which ceased trading after it became embroiled in a clinical waste pile-up controversy with the NHS.
About 350 workers at the Shotts-based company were left penniless around Christmas in 2018 following the termination of its contract with the health service.
The collapse of HES left about 300 tonnes of waste at the firm’s plant in North Lanarkshire, which took a year to clear.
A prosecution brought against the defunct company’s boss, Garry Pettigrew, was dropped last year.
The scandal left NHS bosses scrambling in 2019 to find an alternative company to handle medical waste.
The decision to appoint Tradebe was questioned at the time after it was linked to a string of pollution controversies.
In 2016, the Barcelona-based company was ordered to pay £38,960 following a chemical leak at their Hendon Dock plant in Sunderland.
The company pled guilty to two offences of failing to comply with an environmental permit condition at the city’s magistrates’ court after 4000 litres of isoprophyl alcohol leaked from a tank.
In another incident, Tradebe had proceedings against them for safety failings which led to a major spillage of highly flammable liquid at a site in Knottingley, Yorkshire, in 2013.
Details of the additional payments to Tradebe were set out in a letter from NSS to Baillie last month.
Chief executive Mary Morgan confirmed the payments were made due to “unforeseen circumstances associated with a fire at Tradebe’s facility at Bellshill”.
She added: “These were agreed with Health Board directors of finance and Scottish Government.”
Baillie said: “This letter shows that the SNP Government spent millions of taxpayers’ money bailing out a contracted company.
“This is only the latest episode in the SNP’s failure to come up with a sustainable plan to manage Scotland’s clinical waste.
“The SNP cannot sweep its failures under the carpet any longer. It must explain why the decision was made to spend this money, and open up the books on the contract decision process, so lessons can be learned from this unfortunate saga.”
Gordon Beattie, director of National Procurement at NHS National Services Scotland, said: “Scotland’s clinical waste infrastructure experienced significant challenges following the unexpected administration of NHS Scotland’s previous clinical waste contract in 2018.
“However, following a thorough procurement process, a new framework contractor was appointed in 2020, and substantial progress has been made in re-establishing stability and efficiency in the supply chain.
“Further resilience measures were required in 2021 due to the loss of processing facilities and an interim commercial arrangement was established.
“As a result, these resilience costs were short-lived and ensured the uninterrupted continuation of Scotland’s critical clinical waste supply chain achieving best value for NHS Scotland.
“Since the new contractor’s appointment, major efforts were made to accelerate the development of a new state-of-the-art facility at Queenslie that now supports 85 per cent of Scotland’s clinical waste management.”
NSS said it had also developed a “comprehensive commercial proposal” to mitigate the risk of incurring costs similar to those experienced by NHS Scotland in 2018.
A spokeswoman for Tradebe said: “It would not be appropriate for Tradebe Healthcare to comment on the specific details of our commercial arrangements with NHS Scotland.
“Throughout the period of our contract with NHS Scotland we have continued to deliver a critical service for hospitals in Scotland.
“We can confirm that Tradebe Healthcare has never been prosecuted for any safety-related failings.
“We are proud to continue to provide an excellent, high quality, safe and secure service to NHS Scotland.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Clinical waste disposal is an essential service for the NHS – without it the NHS could not operate.
“The contracts for clinical waste disposal are between Tradebe and NHS health boards, and not the Scottish Government. NHS National Services Scotland manages the contract on behalf of boards.”
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