JEANE FREEMAN has refused to guarantee that Edinburgh’s troubled “sick kids” hospital will be open by the end of next year.

The SNP Health Secretary told the Herald on Sunday newspaper that it “wouldn’t be fair to the staff or [potential] patients” to set a deadline before the Scottish government receives the results of official reviews.

Ms Freeman overruled NHS Lothian bosses to delay the opening of the £150 million Royal Hospital for Children and Young People last month amid concerns over ventilation and drainage problems.

Unison Scotland official Tam Waterson has said the drainage is “not fit for purpose” and that the building might have to be “ripped down” before it is even opened. Ms Freeman has now said there are “no plans to pull down the building and no evidence to support this claim.”

The health board has been accused of failing to provide ministers with accurate information about the safety of the site until late in the day.

Meanwhile it has emerged that the company which installed the drainage systems was given a £4 million advance by the hospital’s main contractor just months before it went bust — causing delays in the work being carried out.

NHS Lothian then had to budget for an additional £11.6m in February 2018 after problems with the site were established, the Sunday Mail reported yesterday.

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said it was “astonishing” and “worrying” that Ms Freeman “has no idea if the hospital will be declared safe to open next year.”

She said it “shows how badly this project has been managed” by NHS officials and the Scottish government.

“Every single day that this hospital lies empty is wasting money that could be benefiting patients,” Ms Lennon told the Herald on Sunday.

“It’s a disgrace and Scottish Labour demands an independent public inquiry.”