Emergency ‘stop work’ procedure developed for Future Hospital

Thursday 30 August 2018

A specialist safety team are working on an emergency ‘stop work’ procedure in case patients are put at risk during Future Hospital construction works, Health officials have said.

The news came as the States urged that the safety of hospital patients, staff and visitors was their “number one priority.”

They were responding to concerns from respected consultant and colorectal surgeon Dr Milkos Kassai, who this week spoke out against building the £466million Future Hospital on its current site.

He argued that doing so would mean significant problems with noise, vibration and dust that could endanger patient recovery and cause “workforce fatigue”, in turn sparking a “mass exodus.”

Pictured: Dr Kassai expressed concerns about building on the current site earlier this week.

“The length of the project is 8 years. It is not only the fact that nobody likes to work on a building site, we are also worried for our patients. They and their visitors need a nice, calm, relaxing atmosphere in order to get better and that is difficult to imagine on a building site,” Dr Kassai commented. 

 “Workforce fatigue can lead to lapses in care and significant problems with recruitment and retaining qualified personnel. We are struggling with this as it is. It has already led to the resignation of experienced people. Further deteriorating the working environment risks a mass exodus and eventually a serious decline in patient’s care. This problem has been identified as the highest risk in the new hospital project,” he added. 

But Health officials disagreed with the consultant’s assessment, assuring islanders that the construction staff involved in the project will be “experienced in building hospitals on the site of an operating hospital.”  

“While we acknowledge that there will always be disruption in building a hospital in any location, the risks associated with noise, dust, vibration and operational disruption in such circumstances are well understood.  Considerable work is being undertaken in the Jersey General Hospital pre-construction phase to understand how these risks can be managed and minimised in the specific circumstances of the General Hospital site,” a spokesperson said.

Pictured: Health officials said that the risks associated with noise, dust and vibration during the construction of the Future Hospital are "well understood."

They added that a specialist ‘Safety Leadership Team’ has now been created to “establish the procedures for the safe operation of the hospital during the construction.” 

“These will include a ‘stop work’ procedure in the unlikely event that any risk to safety become apparent during the construction. We would welcome our Hospital consultants to be members of this safety leadership team,” the spokesperson added.

They said that the team leading the Future Hospital project “sought to work in partnership with doctors, nurses and other stakeholders” and would be providing regular briefs on the project.

The second planning inquiry on the proposed construction will be held next month, but States Members are already investigating the possibility of other sites. 

Meanwhile, patient and local campaigner Dave Cabeldu has launched a petition to allow hospital staff a vote on the Future Hospital site, which has been endorsed by Dr Kassai.

At the time of writing, the petition has nearly 800 signatures – 200 away from securing a response from the Health Minister, Deputy Richard Renouf.