Government hopes to have access to 'hot block' of new children's hospital before end of month 

Minister for health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill accepted the Government would not sign a similar contract as the NCH, while also acknowledging the issue with accepting the lowest bids for a tender. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins

There is a hope within Government that BAM will deliver the key block of the new National Children’s Hospital before the end of next month.

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill visited the site on Tuesday for discussions with BAM about progress towards the hospital’s completion, just days after the contractor confirmed a further delay.

The project was initially due for substantial completion by April 30, but the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) confirmed this deadline would not be met at the Health Committee last week.

Government sources said the minister had two questions for the contractor during Tuesday’s meeting, with the first being when they would complete the "hot block" of the hospital, which contains critical care facilities, surgical theatres, and laboratories.

A senior Government source close to the project said the Government still needs to get “clarity” from BAM as to when they will complete this block.

“We’re still in an end of April timeframe before they [finish the hot block], or earlier,” they said.

Further questions were raised around the level of resources being provided to complete the hospital by BAM.

“We just want clarity overall around when are we going to get the rest of the hospital. That’s a volume exercise and it’s largely driven by the amount of resources that BAM wants to put on site,” the source said.

“The minister is keeping that pressure on to get the hot block finished… It’s squarely on the contractors’ shoulders to get this job done.”

BAM previously pushed back on assertions that there were not enough resources on site, saying there are between 850 and 900 contractors on site each day.

However, the senior source said while there may be high numbers of people on site, questions remained around productivity of those contractors.

General view of The New Children's Hospital, Dublin, as of the end of February this year. File picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Earlier on Tuesday, Ms Carroll MacNeill said the Government would not be accepting the hospital from BAM unless it was up to the “appropriate clinical standard”.

Speaking on Newstalk, the health minister said she expected the hospital would be opened seven months after the State is given access to the ‘hot block’.

“The bit that really matters is floor one and floor two. Because that’s where critical care is, that’s where the surgeries are, that’s where the laboratories are,” Ms Carroll MacNeill said.

Ms Carroll MacNeill said the laboratories would take the longest to fit out, but the State cannot get in to carry out the works until the contractor completes the work.

She said she had sought to cut down the timeframe for commissioning further, but it was not possible.

“I’ve even tried can we test the laboratory equipment somewhere else and then move it in? No, it has to be calibrated perfectly on site. That’s the bit that’s going to take us the longest,” Ms Carroll MacNeill said.

Ms Carroll MacNeill said her focus is on getting the hospital open.

She accepted the Government would not sign a similar contract as the NCH, while also acknowledging the issue with accepting the lowest bids for a tender.

“There was a particular point in the economic recovery to always take the cheapest thing. It’s not necessarily the cheapest thing in the long run.”

• Tadgh McNally is a Political Reporter.