HSE warned a year ago over hospital project

THE HSE board was warned of “accountability and responsibility” issues within the national children’s hospital project a year ago but failed to address the situation.

Minutes of the HSE board’s May 2010 meeting show specific concerns were privately raised over the handling of the project before former National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) chair John Gallagher resigned in March.

Official documents confirm that after a presentation by the HSE’s deputy chief architectural advisor, Paul de Freine, in May 2010, “the board expressed concerns relating to the lines of accountability, responsibility and the progress of the project”.

While this situation resulted in “some slippage on certain targets” linked to the vital hospital’s development, the board was told the project — which has now been stalled as part of a Government review — remained on track.

However, it said a further progress report on the matter would be provided in the second quarter of 2011 in order to monitor progress.

This is the same period when Mr Gallagher wrote to new Health Minister James Reilly to urging the senior cabinet member to take responsibility for the project away from the NPHDB or re-staff the hospital development board with people who have experience of overseeing large-scale capital expenditure plans.

As revealed by the Irish Examiner yesterday, Mr Gallagher made this request to Dr Reilly on March 9 this year — less than three weeks before he became the second chair to stand down from the hospital development board since last October.

The letter by Mr Gallagher raised further concerns over the make-up of the project’s three-man executive team, as it did not have the resources or skills to regulate the day-to-day activity of the multi-million euro state development plan.

He specifically warned that, as the executive team was made up of people with a medical background, no one was able to adequately query why construction work costs were increasing past previously agreed levels.

While Dr Reilly has since instigated a soon-to-be-completed review of the major project, the Tallaght Hospital Action Group (THAG) said the lack of clear action from the HSE to resolve accountability issues raised a full year ago was “a serious failure” by the health service hierarchy.

The action group is seeking to have the mooted location of the national children’s hospital moved to another site.

A spokesperson for the minister repeated that any future changes to the project remain “contingent on the review”.