OnoMatopee schreef op 16 maart 2025 09:23:
Fresh doubts cast over agreed June deadline for children’s hospital completion
HSE board was warned of risk around completion date for €2.2bn project
Maeve Sheehan
The HSE board was told six weeks ago of the risk the new children’s hospital may not be finished by the agreed June 2025 deadline, raising fresh concerns about the certainty of the project’s completion date.
A briefing document dated January 29 warned that while performance on the building site had “improved”, risk remained that the completion date of June 30 “will not be met”.
The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) — which is overseeing the build — had reported “ongoing challenges” with the quality of the construction, the document said.
The board’s position was to ensure the hospital meets quality standards, even if enforcing standards risked further delays, according to the document.
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Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill told the Dáil on March 6 she had been “verbally assured” by the contractors, BAM, that the building will be completed by the end of June.
The project has been dogged by spiralling costs, delays and disputes between BAM and the NPHDB.
Costs soared from €800m to €1.7bn in 2023 and increased again last year. The Government signed off on a revised total budget of €2.24bn, vowing not to spend a cent more.
The contractor subsequently publicly committed to finish the building by the end of June with an expected opening date in 2026, based on the estimated six months it will take to commission and equip the building.
The briefing note, prepared by Patrick Lynch (the HSE’s national director of planning and performance) for the board of directors, was heavily redacted before it was released under the Freedom of Information Act.
It said the meeting between the then health minister Stephen Donnelly and BAM executives had led to a “contractually compliant” programme for the first time since 2021, with June 30 agreed as the substantial completion date.
BAM had reported some “time slippage”, but committed to putting mitigation measures in place.
“While performance on site has improved, there remains a risk that this will not happen,” the document warned.
“Further delays to the substantial completion date continues to be a risk to the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board and Children’s Health Ireland programmes.”
The NPHDB is still reporting “ongoing challenges” with the quality of the construction, the briefing note said, and BAM “continues to fall behind its quality programme in terms of closing out of Non-Conformance Reports [reports that identify areas where standards are not met]”.
The briefing document acknowledged that enforcing standards could cause delays, stating: “The HSE supports the NPHDB position on ensuring the NCH meets quality standards, despite the risk that enforcing this standard may cause some further delays.”
As regards the commissioning of the new hospital, the briefing note said this will take “at least six months”. It included the commissioning, installation and testing of systems, 36,000 pieces of equipment and training for 4,000 staff, plus a post-construction deep clean of the hospital, which has 6,000 rooms.
“To mitigate the impact of this longer commissioning period on the opening of the hospital, the NPHDB and Children’s Health Ireland [CHI] have been preparing a proposal for three months additional early access to the building.”
The briefing document said a new state-of-the-art Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Camhs) Unit will require additional Camhs staff. However, no provision has been made for extra staff.
“The new unit will provide additional rather than replacement Camhs capacity and therefore the unit will need to be staffed. No allocation was provided in the 2025 letter of determination for this and will need to be addressed.”
Opposition parties have questioned the Government on the level of certainty over the completion date for the hospital and its preparedness for moving hundreds of staff from three existing children’s hospitals to the new site.
Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane said people want to be assured that the June deadline will be met and that the Government is on top of the handover.
Labour Party TD Marie Sherlock called for the Government to publish the full information on cost, staffing and a new opening date for the hospital.
www.independent.ie/irish-news/fresh-d...