NHS Lothian was told that two of the firms working on the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Department of Clinical Neurosciences have entered administration and provisional liquidity respectively.

IHS Lothian Ltd, the construction consortium responsible for the project, admitted that the development could now be completed in spring 2018 rather than autumn 2017 as originally planned.

Jim Crombie, acting chief executive of NHS Lothian, said: “We will continue to work closely with IHS Lothian Ltd to ensure that our state of the art new hospital is delivered as soon as possible.

“Projects of this scale and, of this nature, are very rarely straightforward and bring with them many complex and sometimes unavoidable challenges.

“While this change is frustrating for our patients and staff, we must not forget that construction of this impressive new building is continuing and that much work has already been achieved.”

The Dunne Group had been responsible for constructing the concrete frame, groundworks and other support services before entering administration, resulting in a temporary pause to the work stream.

Meanwhile, JB Brickwork (LPM) Ltd had provided materials and labour to construct brickwork services before it entered provisional liquidation.

IHS Lothian also admitted that the project had been hindered by unfavourable weather and unavoidable technical construction problems.

The consortium has lessened the impact of some of these issues with the introduction of increased staff, working hours and alternative construction methods, though it is still considering revisions to the schedule.

IHS Lothian consists of Macquarie Capital as exclusive financial adviser, Brookfield Multiplex Construction Europe as design and build contractor and Bouygues E&S as facilities management provider.

Construction work begun in February 2015 and, once complete, the hospital will feature a helipad, large atrium and paediatric emergency department.

Any alterations to the timetable will not result in any additional costs to NHS Lothian.