£5.6 million hospital improvement lined up despite new building plans

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Health are planning to spend around £5.6 million on sorting out operating theatres over the next few years, even though they’re about to commission a new £300 million hospital building.

The department says that although the new building is being planned, it will take ten years to be built and they need to make sure that there’s capacity to do the operations that are needed before the new building is ready.

The new Health Minister Andrew Green is due to make an announcement about the site and cost of the new hospital in May, ahead of a debate in July - no firm indication of the new site has been given yet, which means that if a new site is selected, the new theatres might end up being demolished within a few years of being built.

Health say that work will start next month on two temporary operating theatres on the neighbouring Gloucester Street car park, and that they will be ready early next year. A separate project to refurbish the four existing operating theatres will also start next year – the combined cost of the two projects is estimated at £5.6 million.

Hospital Managing Director Helen O’Shea said: "The infrastructure of the existing theatres is nearly 30-years-old and in need of refurbishment, meaning that additional theatre space is required in order to carry on with our operating lists whilst upgrading work takes place.

“After refurbishment is complete, the Maternity Unit will relocate its theatre cases to the main operating block, in line with modern practice.

“Additionally, and very importantly, demands for planned surgery are growing, and we need to increase capacity in order to meet this demand.”

ROK Construction Limited have won the tender for the first phase of the project to build the two new theatres, which will cost £3.1 million.

Senator Green said that the work was essential and could not be delayed.

He said: “The 2012 White Paper addressing the Redesign of Health and Social Services highlighted that new hospital capacity would be needed within ten years, and the planning permit for this work extends for ten years, up to the point where the proposed future hospital capacity could be in place.”