Children’s hospital board dismiss concerns around further cost and time overruns
The new National Children's Hospital site. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin
The board of the National Children’s Hospital has dismissed warnings that the new facility is facing further significant cost and time overruns, claiming any alterations are “minor”.
In a statement, the board said there has been no material change to the design of the new hospital and the remedial work to ceilings will not impact on the completion date of the facility.
On Tuesday, it had been reported that 11 operating theatres within the new National Children’s Hospital require additional work, with concerns it could lead to additional cost and further delays. That is half of the 22 operating theatres set to be within the new hospital.
However, the board has since come out to say: “The potential works in the 11 operating theatres are minor works — they are not on the critical path.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has been aware of the potential issue since May 2022 and the issue is being addressed in a “timely and appropriate manner”.
“The change, if instructed to BAM, will involve the movement of four ceiling grilles in each of the 11 theatres. This will not cost ‘tens of millions of euro’, as is being claimed, and is not expected to have an impact on the completion date of the hospital."
The statement added: “BAM has been instructed to continue works in accordance with the current design — and this potential issue will be addressed at the appropriate time."
Earlier, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly called for a “sense of perspective” over the concerns that some remedial works may be required within operating theatres at the National Children's Hospital.
Mr Donnelly said that these changes have not yet been asked for and downplayed the potential impact on the project.
“I think we need to maintain a sense of perspective about this. What we’re talking about is potential changes that haven’t yet been asked for, to 11 of 5,000 rooms in the children’s hospital,” Mr Donnelly said.
“Changes like this, discussions like this happen all the time through this project so I think we just need to maintain a sense of perspective as to what we’re talking about.”
Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane told RTÉ’s that he had been informed by a source that the issue was with ventilation in the operating theatres.
Mr Cullinane said that the source is at the “heart” of the project and that the issue could potentially add “tens of millions to the cost of the children’s hospital”.
However, Mr Donnelly called for Mr Cullinane to clarify whether or not the source of the claims was the contractor, BAM.
He said that the source could be using the issue as a “negotiating strategy”.
Mr Donnelly added that a programme of works has yet to be delivered to the NPHDB ahead of the hospital’s handover to the State next March.
“The contractor has committed to handing this hospital over to Children’s Health Ireland and to the State in March of next year,” Mr Donnelly said.
“Now, I expect the contractor to meet its obligations and the very clear advice I have from the hospital development board is that they do not have a programme of works from the contractor that shows that this hospital is going to be handed over as agreed next March.
“They don’t have a contact of works that is compliant.”
The statement from the National Children’s Hospital board added: “There are 5,000 rooms to be completed within the hospital. BAM is being asked to progress works in all areas as quickly as possible — including in the Operating Theatres. The critical issue of concern is that BAM has still not provided a compliant Programme of Works. BAM was due to provide an updated Programme in February 2023, this has still not been provided and therefore BAM is in breach of contract. As a result, the NPHDB has advised BAM that it intends to issue an Employer Claim to withhold 15% of the payments due to BAM.
“BAM continues to submit large volumes of claims on the new children’s hospital project — 2,122 claims up to the end of May 2023. To date, of the determined claims made by the Employer’s Representative, less than 2% of the value of the claims submitted by BAM has been awarded in its favour. Including settled disputes this is equivalent to approx. €13m or 1.4% of the contract value.”
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