Latest news with #DavidGunning
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Numbers working on children's hospital project dropped by third since January, politicians hear
There has been a 33 per cent decrease in the number of staff working on the site of the new national children's hospital since the start of the new year, politicians have been told. Building on the site at St James's Hospital in Dublin began in 2016 after years of disagreement over the location of the hospital. The following eight years were marked by ballooning costs – from €987 million to €2.2 billion, with repeated delays exacerbated by an increasingly fractious relationship between the builders, BAM , and the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board , which oversees the project. The hospital's completion date has been delayed once again, from June to September 2025, and patients are not due to be treated in there until June 2026 at the earliest. READ MORE At a meeting of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday morning, Phelim Devine, project director of the development board, said last October, when BAM committed to complete the hospital by June, there were 750 workers on site. 'Following that commitment, there was a bump. It bumped up to 900. But since January, that's slowly dropping off every month. It's now down below 600,' he said. David Gunning, chief executive of the board, said he did not have faith in BAM, the contractor as this is the '15th new timeline'. [ National children's hospital builder completes only 60% of progress Opens in new window ] Asked if he believed this new deadline would be met, Mr Gunning said it was 'too soon to tell', as the board had not yet had the opportunity to 'forensically examine the programme'. 'It is possible to get this hospital done by the 30th of September,' Mr Gunning said, but only 'if the appropriate resourcing is provided to get it done'. Those resources are not there 'at the moment', he said, 'but that doesn't mean it can't be provided'. Mr Gunning was asked about the status of legal claims. The Comptroller and Auditor General , Seamus McCarthy, said the development board paid BAM €122 million for a claim around delays. He said there was a high volume of claims coming in from the contractor, but there were 16 claims that amount to about €800 million relating to delays. One claim is valued at between €200 and €300 million, he added. 'There is duplication and triplication within [those] 16 claims,' he said. 'The contractor has to prove quite a lot to make these claims stick. It has to be dealt with, examined and analysed in a great deal of detail.' In a statement on Thursday evening, BAM Ireland said that over the past seven months 'in the region of 70 significant change orders, each of which can include multiple design changes, have been issued to BAM. This has inevitably delayed substantial completion'. On worker levels, the contractor added that the project has 'always been fully resourced by BAM' and is currently resourced at about 50 per cent higher than expected for this stage. Also before the committee on Thursday, Lucy Nugent, chief executive of Children's Health Ireland (CHI), apologised for the breakdown in trust that has occurred between patients and CHI, particularly in relation to orthopaedic services. She said the surgeon at the centre of a controversy about the use of unauthorised springs in three children's spinal surgeries, referred to as Surgeon A, remains on paid, voluntary leave while a 'HR process' is under way. A recent report on the matter by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) criticised CHI for its culture and governance. Ms Nugent said it was her role as chief executive to ensure 'robust processes' were in place so staff feel 'psychological safety to speak up if they see something wrong'. Meanwhile, in the Dáil , Sinn Féin 's finance spokesman Pearse Doherty called on Tánaiste Simon Harris to take responsibility for a 'build as you go' contract for the hospital that 'declared open season on the public finances'. Mr Harris, who was minister for health at the time of the contract signing, said that, considering €110 billion is being spent annually, 'investing just over €2 billion over a number of years for a hospital that will serve children well into the next century is a good thing to do, an appropriate thing to do, and it will make a very, very significant difference to children's health'.
Irish Independent
22-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
No assurances that latest delay to new children's hospital will be the last, chief executive warns
The Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has heard that the completion of the project has been pushed back from September to June 2026 – the fifteenth delay in five years. Chief Executive of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), David Gunning, said he could not at this time offer assurances that this will be the final delay. Under questioning from Aontú's Peadar Tóibín during Leaders' Questions in the Dáil, Mr Harris said: 'Of course I am responsible. I am responsible for bringing the decision to cabinet. I am going to be responsible for a world class facility.' He said 'nobody gets everything right in you sit over there and correct everybody's homework 'You rehearsed your lines that you must practice in front of the mirror in the morning. I am responsible, of course I am responsible. I am responsible for bringing the proposal to cabinet, I am responsible for recommending we proceed. And the easiest thing to do in politics if you don't want to get into any challenging situation is never make a decision. 'I am also going to be responsible for a world class facility, we are going to be responsible for transforming children's healthcare,' he said. Deputy Tóibín accused him of blame-shifting: 'Simon 'it wasn't me' Harris is what we have in front of us at the moment.' He added: 'Accountability and yourself are like oil and water.' But the Fine Gael leader fought back. He said that 'nobody gets everything right in politics' and added: 'it's easy to sit over there and just correct everybody's homework. It much harder to come to work and roll up your sleeves and actually deliver for the people.' Meanwhile, Mr Harris said that a new children's hospital planned for the North will cost more per square metre than the one due to open next year in Dublin. ADVERTISEMENT He was responding after Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty accused him of 'declaring open season on the public finances' when he proceeded with National Children's Hospital as Minister for Health. 'Tánaiste, you personally signed the contract for the National Children's Hospital without even a finalised plan in place. It was pay as you go, and that is why BAM has the state over the barrel for the past eight years.' He said it's no surprise that developers are 'going to squeeze as much profit out as they can' but that 'competent ministers are supposed to protect the public purse. So when you signed that contract you declared open season on the public finances,' he said. But Minister Harris replied that the Sinn Féin First Minister in the North, Michelle O'Neill, has announced that £671million will be spent on a state-of-the-art children's hospital at the Belfast Royal Victoria Hospital. 'The children's hospital that you are delivering in Northern Ireland that your First Minister, that your Vice President welcomed, is more expensive per square metre than the Children's Hospital we are delivering here in this jurisdiction,' he said.
Irish Independent
22-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Review into child hip dysplasia surgeries due to be published Friday, PAC to hear today
The random sample of surgeries which were examined to assess if they were medically necessary were carried out at Crumlin Hospital and Cappagh Hospital between 2021 and 2023. Ms Nugent is part of a delegation of CHI, HSE and Department of Health officials who will appear before the committee this morning. She is due to say the report will be published this week and that parents of children involved will be communicated with in the first instance. Ms Nugent is also to say CHI is 'unreservedly sorry' for the use of experimental unlicensed implants in three children highlighted in a recent report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa). The inquiry revealed the implants were used without ethical approval or the consent of parents. The surgeries carried out between 2020 and 2022 involved non-alloyed spring steel which should not be used in surgeries, were not CE marked and can corrode. Ms Nugent will tell the committee today that recommendations in the report will be fully implemented and there will be 'transparency and openness around improvements in services.' Meanwhile, members of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), which is responsible for overseeing the building of the new €2.24bn new national children's hospital, will also appear before PAC today and confirm its completion date has been pushed out from June to the end of September. David Gunning, chief executive of the NPHDB, will tell the committee that a number of key metrics tracking the progress of the construction of the hospital are behind schedule and the end of June timeline will not be met as a result. It is the 15th time in over four years that a promised completion date has not been met. ADVERTISEMENT The updates are to be given to the committee as the 2023 financial statements of both bodies are examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Speaking ahead of the meeting, the committee's chairman, John Brady, said: 'In February 2024, Government approved enhanced capital and current budget sanctions for the Children's Hospital project and programme, bringing the total approved budget to €2.24bn. 'This includes a capital budget of €1.88bn for designing, building and equipping the NCH and the two satellite centres. A separate €362m budget is in place for the programme of integration and transition of services to the NCH from the three existing children's hospitals at Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght, including commissioning, ICT, and the Electronic Health Record system. 'The NPHDB and CHI were due to attend the previous PAC on November 7, 2024. However, shortly before their appearance, the NPHDB and CHI wrote to the committee to advise that they were unable to attend on that date due to key witnesses being 'unavailable'. The Committee at the time said it was 'disappointed and concerned' that the public meeting to examine expenditure related to new National Children's Hospital could not proceed. 'Key issues for examination with the NPHDB are the expenditure to date, management of project delays and overruns, and management of claims received from BAM, the main contractor for the project. Important matters for the committee include the accountability of the board to the committee for project cost overruns, transparency of cost estimates, the substantial completion date for the project, and lessons learned for other large scale capital projects. 'With regard to CHI, critical matters for the Committee include ensuring steady Children's Hospital transition implementation, and early provision of full services which will require substantial recruitment, training and rationalisation of services, and T transformation projects to ensure electronic patient records. 'The committee will also examine governance and oversight in respect of clinical controls around medical device implants and alleged issues with the number of hip dysplasia operations carried out, as well as delays in carrying out required surgeries, and the potential for compensation claims. Further issues for examination include material non-compliant procurement, financial losses due to submission of 'out of time' claims to insurers, the settlement with the former chief executive of CHI, and legal costs and claims settlements,' Mr Brady said.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
National children's hospital builder completes only 60% of progress
The builder for the new national children's hospital has completed only 60 per cent of the progress it was supposed to have achieved by next month when the healthcare facility was due for substantial completion, politicians will be told on Thursday. On Saturday, The Irish Times reported the substantial completion of the healthcare facility has been delayed again until at least September, with patients now not expected to be treated at the facility until June 2026 at the earliest. The delay has been confirmed to members of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC), who will hold a meeting on the progress of the new hospital on Thursday morning. In his opening statement. David Gunning, chief executive of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), the body overseeing the project, will tell politicians contractor BAM has extended the substantial completion date from June to September 30th. READ MORE 'In the past seven months, BAM has achieved approximately 60 per cent of its planned progress set out within its programme,' the statement says. 'The NPHDB holds BAM to account across several programme KPIs [key performance indicators], and all of these are currently behind schedule.' Following the extension, Mr Gunning said the employer's representative, an independent party appointed to review claims on behalf of both sides, has 'formally requested that BAM submit a detailed programme setting out its actions and reasons for delays'. 'This further delay is a cause of great frustration. We acknowledge that the hospital is progressing, but BAM's pace is insufficient to meet the 30th June deadline it committed to,' his statement adds. Mr Gunning will say the contractor 'continues to submit a high volume of claims', but the net increase of these claims to date is about €50.5 million – excluding inflation. Asked about the delay to completion of the hospital last week, a spokesman for BAM said the project is at 'a very advanced stage and is well through the technical commissioning process'. After substantial completion, the hospital will be handed over to Children's Health Ireland (CHI), which will run the hospital once opened, for a nine month commissioning period. Lucy Nugent, chief executive of CHI, who is also due to appear before the PAC, will say commissioning the new hospital is a 'complex operation requiring meticulous planning, which is well advanced'. Ms Nugent will also provide an update on the healthcare group's financial statements. CHI returned a deficit of €7.8 million for 2023, she will say, which 'reflects the net impact of the incremental cost of provision of services as offset by increased funding received from the HSE by CHI'. The cumulative deficit at December 21st, 2023 amounted to €18 million, with Ms Nugent saying a 'substantial element of the balance relates to legacy deficits incurred prior to the establishment of CHI'.
