Dirt, dust, and water leaks among 12,414 defects preventing completion of children's hospital

Other issues include the noise level of the ventilation systems in clinical parts of the hospital, and water not draining in showers

About 200 rooms in the new National Children’s Hospital had to be refitted and repaired as water had gotten in from leaks and open rooftop windows and caused damage File picture: Sam Boal/Collins 

About 200 rooms in the new National Children’s Hospital had to be refitted and repaired as water had gotten in from leaks and open rooftop windows and caused damage, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

A litany of snags have prevented the hospital’s completion, with the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) reporting 12,414 defects remaining.

Other issues include:

• Water not draining in bathrooms with showers;
• Dirt underneath a layer of the operating theatre’s floor, which would leave it difficult for surgeons to ascertain whether it is clean;
• Dust from building works entering into the ventilation ducts.

Some snags have been addressed by BAM, but fixes to the ventilation ducts are still under way.

It comes as the NPHDB is due to appear before the Public Accounts Committee in Thursday morning, where it will say 4,313 rooms have been offered by BAM at the completion standard.

Of those, 3,159 have been formally validated by the hospital’s design team. There are an overall 5,728 rooms in the hospital.

One source said the Government was not being unreasonable with BAM by seeking to ensure the hospital was provided to proper clinical standard.

Other issues include the noise level of the ventilation systems in clinical parts of the hospital.

“One of the last times we were on site, one of the vents near a baby’s cot was running three or four decibels over,” another source said.

Both sources raised the fact inspectors from the design team were having to inspect every room in the hospital, with some rooms being inspected multiple times for snags.

They said that, in similar sized infrastructure projects, inspectors would use a “proportional risk assessment” approach and inspect up to 25% of the rooms.

“We just don’t have the faith that everything is being done the way it should have been,” one source said.

Responding, a spokesperson for BAM said the NCH was the “largest healthcare investment in the State’s history and what is being described is the normal snagging and commissioning phase required on projects of this scale and complexity”.

They also accused the NPHDB of using “highly selective data” which is misleading. In its statement, the company's figures differed from those put forward by the board.

“Of the 5,728 areas/rooms in this hospital, it has been reported that just 3,185 have been completed, ignoring the fact that an additional 1,219 have been offered to the client and are awaiting review," it said.

BAM accused the NPHDB of issuing significant design changes, which the board has repeatedly denied.