Scottish Hospitals Inquiry – Hearings Facility

Challenge:

In 2020, a public inquiry was set up to investigate the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Campus in Glasgow, the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Edinburgh. A purpose-built hearings facility was completed at Mint House in Edinburgh’s city centre to serve the inquiry.

Participation in the inquiry hearings would be facilitated either in person or remotely via video link. The inquiry required that all hearings would be broadcast live on YouTube and would be subject to TV and Radio media coverage. NuVideo were contracted with the design and implementation of the audio-visual systems which would be required to support the inquiry throughout its lifecycle.

Solution:

Working closely with Inquiry Secretary and Hearings Team throughout the consultation and design phases, NuVideo was able to leverage its considerable experience to tackle the various challenges presented by the project. After carefully considering the format of the inquiry and the key elements critical to its success, NuVideo set about designing a bespoke multimedia solution aligned to the project brief.

The proposed solution comprised high quality delegate microphones, delegate document information screens, speaker tracking cameras, sound system and wall mounted displays for audience viewing. The system also provides the ability connect in remote participants over Webex or Microsoft Teams and to stream any hearings live to YouTube.

Outcome:

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry has successfully delivered multiple hearing sessions since its launch in 2021, posting in excess of 50 ‘live’ streamed hearings to YouTube. These recordings have been used on all major news channels including BBC, ITV & Sky News. Using this state-of-the-art technology, the client has been able to include remote participants in ‘hybrid’ style hearings, ensuring that the inquiry continues to operate regardless of the location of those attending.

A combination of products from leading manufacturers were selected for the design. The solution is user friendly and future proofed with future expansion capability in mind:

The Plixus MME multimedia system engine from Televic provides audio routing and processing along with the speaker tracking cameras and its own document management system.

Cisco’s Webex Room Kit Plus Videoconferencing codec delivers the capability for high quality video and audio communication with external participants on multiple collaboration platforms.

Large format Sony 4K displays provide bright and clear imaging throughout the hearing suite, ensuring that the audience can clearly view proceedings.