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Extra.ie
23-05-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
€2.2bn National Children's Hospital could be ready sooner but not enough workers are on site, PAC hears
The number of workers on the site of the National Children's Hospital has fallen by one-third since the beginning of the year, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been told. The National Children's Hospital has been repeatedly beset by delays and cost overruns. It was originally set to cost €987million but is now expected to cost €2.2billion. The relationship between construction firm BAM and the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), which oversees the project, has grown increasingly fractious. The number of workers on the site of the National Children's Hospital has fallen by one-third since the beginning of the year, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been told. Pic: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin Answering questions from Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly, the project director at the NPHDB, Phelim Devine, said there were roughly 750 workers on the site of the hospital last autumn, when BAM 'gave a commitment' that the project would be complete by June 2025. Mr Devine said that 'there was a bump' in staffing levels in the months that followed, with 900 'productive resources' working on the project at the end of 2024. 'But since January of this year it has been slowly dropping off every month and we are down to less than 600 productive resources,' Mr Devine told the PAC, adding: '[BAM] are not meeting their commitments.' David Gunning, chief executive of the NPHDB. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos David Gunning, chief executive of the NPHDB, said it was possible to 'get this hospital done by September 30', 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.' The comments came as executives from the NPHDB insisted that the project was not being 'properly resourced' by the contractor. The PAC heard yesterday that, in the past seven months, developer BAM had achieved only around 60% of its planned progress. The National Children's Hospital has been repeatedly beset by delays and cost overruns. Pic: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin This has moved the completion deadline from June to September 30 – the 15th time the completion date has been delayed, according to the NPHDB. Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty told the Dáil the hospital had become 'an epic saga'. 'The deadline for opening this hospital has been missed 15 times – 15 times. Like, that's crazy. Crazy,' he told Tánaiste Simon Harris during Leaders' Questions. 'Responding to the committee hearing, a spokesman for BAM said: 'Following a meeting with then-minister for health Stephen Donnelly in early October 2024, BAM indicated that substantial completion of the NCH could be achieved by June 2025 if no further design changes were made. In the seven months since that meeting, in the region of 70 significant change orders, each of which can include multiple design changes, have been issued to BAM.'
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'.
Irish Times
17-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Children's hospital ‘never-ending saga', says Opposition after completion delayed until September
The new national children's hospital (NCH) is a 'never-ending saga', with deadlines becoming 'moving targets', Opposition politicians have said after it emerged the completion of the project has been delayed again until at least September. 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. In September last, the contractor pledged the new substantial completion date for the hospital would be June 2025 – the 14th such date issued by the builder. However, it has now emerged this date will not be met. The national paediatric hospital development board (NPHDB), the body overseeing the project, is due to appear before politicians to update them on the hospital on Thursday. READ MORE Sinn Féin's health spokesman David Cullinane described the children's hospital as a 'never-ending saga' that is 'making a mockery' out of the taxpayer. 'What we have is the board saying the contractor is not deploying enough human resources; the company is pointing the finger at the board. All of this has to come to a stop eventually,' said Mr Cullinane. 'We need to know why there's been a further delay. We were told the most recent completion date [June] would be met, and now we hear it won't. I think the opening [to patients] of summer next year is widely optimistic. It's been delayed, delayed, delayed.' Mr Cullinane said it was an 'absolute shambles' to have 'completion date after completion date come and go'. 'Children who should have been treated in the hospital by 2022, now won't be seen until the middle of 2026,' he added. Labour health spokeswoman Marie Sherlock said the delay is 'extremely frustrating' but 'not entirely unexpected'. 'The question we would have now is around cost and what impact this will have on activity for the three hospitals. Ultimately, it is very frustrating and even with the handover in September, that is still a very tight turnaround for the commissioning period,' she added. Social Democrats health spokesman Pádraig Rice said the hospital has to be 'one of the most botched capital projects in the history of the State'. 'Where is the political leadership? How many more delays before there is political accountability? How can we have any confidence that children will be treated in the hospital by June 2026?' he asked. 'Deadlines have become little more than moving targets,' he added before calling on Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to update the Dáil next week on the latest delay. 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 cost – from €987 million to €2.2 billion, with repeated delays exacerbated by an increasingly fractious relationship between the builders, BAM , and the NPHDB. Asked about further delays, a spokeswoman for the NPHDB said work towards substantial completion is 'continuing and approaching the final stages'. 'A key focus currently relates to the completion of all rooms and spaces within the hospital to the standard required by the contract, ie, snag free,' she said. 'This process is advancing. In addition, the technical commissioning is being undertaken and will continue until substantial completion.' A BAM spokesman said: 'The NCH project is at a very advanced stage and is well through the technical commissioning process. BAM is working closely with the NPHDB and CHI [Children's Health Ireland] to ensure early access for CHI.'
Irish Times
17-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
National children's hospital: Completion delayed until at least September
Substantial completion of the new national children's hospital 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. 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 cost – from €987 million to €2.2 billion, with repeated delays exacerbated by an increasingly fractious relationship between the builders, BAM , and the board overseeing the project – the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) In September last, the contractor pledged the new substantial completion date for the hospital would be June 2025 – the 14th such date issued by the builder. READ MORE It has now emerged that this will not be met, with the new date forecast for September at the earliest. However, sources have indicated the NPHDB is not confident of completion by the new target timeline. This delay will have an impact as to when the hospital will open to patients. Following substantial completion, the hospital will be handed over to Children's Health Ireland (CHI) for operational commissioning, which takes nine months. During this phase, more than 36,000 pieces of clinical equipment will be installed, electronic health records will be integrated, and more than 4,000 staff from the three existing hospitals will be trained. However, The Irish Times understands a September date will have an impact on the commissioning period, as this is the beginning of winter activity, when respiratory illnesses surge. Clinical advice has suggested migration to the new hospital cannot be undertaken in winter due to 'clinical risks'. Consequently, sources familiar with the project have indicated it will be June at the earliest before patients are treated in the hospital. In light of the consistent delays to the project, NPHDB agreed with BAM that CHI could have access to the site from April to mitigate risks of delays to operational commissioning and to complete technical commissioning. This early access has not been granted, however, as areas selected for early access have not yet being completed to a contractual standard. It is understood that this early access will be provided in the coming weeks, but it is expected to be conducted on a phased basis. Asked about delays, a spokeswoman for NPHDB said work towards substantial completion is 'continuing and approaching the final stages'. 'A key focus currently relates to the completion of all rooms and spaces within the hospital to the standard required by the contract, ie, snag free,' the spokeswoman said. 'This process is advancing. In addition, the technical commissioning is being undertaken and will continue until substantial completion.' In a statement last week about early access, a Department of Health spokeswoman said all parties were working to 'minimise further delays' and the Government wanted to see the hospital open 'as soon as possible'. Asked about the delay, a BAM Ireland spokesman said: 'The NCH project is at a very advanced stage and is well through the technical commissioning process. BAM is working closely with the NPHDB and CHI to ensure early access for CHI.' The latest delay comes after significant tensions between BAM and the NPHDB, with the body previously alleging the contractor was holding the hospital 'hostage' to secure more funding from the State. The contractor denied these allegations and blamed late-stage design changes by the NPHDB for the delays. Next Thursday, the NPHDB, CHI, Seamus McCarthy, Comptroller and Auditor General, and staff from the department and Health Service Executive will appear before the Public Accounts Committee to update politicians on the project.
