Once again, the national children’s hospital is in the news. Originally due to be completed in 2022, it has been beset by delays and cost overruns, as the relationship between the builders and the Government grows more and more fractious.
When was the hospital due to be completed?
The most recent substantial completion target date that has been provided by the contractor was the end of September. Previously, it was due for substantial completion last June.
And is that target deadline going to be met?
Health sources have indicated this target completion date will not be met. In light of the consistent delays, it was negotiated that Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), which will operate the hospital upon opening, was due to get early access prior to substantial completion to ensure opening of the facility would occur as quickly as possible.
However, CHI have still not received such access, which will have knock-on effects on the technical commissioning phase, and, consequently, the date at which it opens to patients.
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So, when will it open to patients?
This is the eternal question on everyone’s lips. During the summer, June 2026 was floated as the date when patients would be arriving at the state-of-the-art healthcare facility.
After substantial completion, there is a nine-month technical commissioning phase, which will be carried out by CHI.
But this latest delay means the end of next year is a much more likely opening date, with concerns being raised in political circles that it could be closer to 2027 before patients are seen.
What is going on now?
A public row has broken out between Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and the main contractor, Bam Ireland.
Tensions have been growing between the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) and Bam for some years. But this public intervention by the Minister is further evidence of deteriorating relations.
At a press conference on an unrelated issue on Thursday, Ms MacNeill was asked about the hospital and she expressed frustration at the pace of progress, criticising the number of staff on site as well as the amount of money drawn down.
What did Bam say in response?
The contractor was quite strong in its rebuttal of the Minister’s comments, saying it was “disappointed” by her remarks and suggested she had only received “partial information” in relation to the current status of the project.
“The project is more than 99 per cent complete. Due to the specialist nature of the commissioning work currently underway at this late stage, it is entirely normal that there are fewer personnel on site compared to this time last year,” a statement said.
“Large areas of the hospital have been completed since early July and offered to the NPHDB for early access. We would be delighted to welcome Minister Carroll MacNeill to the hospital to see the significant progress first-hand.”
They once again attributed the delay to design changes by the NPHDB.
So who should be believed?
That depends on who you ask. The Minister issued a follow-up statement calling into question the credibility of Bam’s claims.
According to the Minister’s statement, the NPHDB has stated “many of these offered rooms still have open snags” and that “in reality only 800 of these rooms are satisfactory”. This, she said, amounted to less than 15 per cent of the overall number of rooms.
She added that since the hospital is 99 per cent complete, it is “not credible” that design changes are impacting the completion of the project.
And what does the Opposition say?
They are calling on the Government to use whatever “financial and legal levers” in the contract that will enforce the contractor’s completion of the project as soon as possible.
