READER LETTER: A bolder vision for the future hospital

Sunday 31 January 2021

An islander has put forward his alternative vision for the new hospital in a bid to inspire some more creative thinking in the design process.

According to Tony O’Halloran, the future hospital should be a facility that is not hidden, but "rather boldly reflecting the greatness of the island with a stunning public view to visitors and residents alike".

He shared his proposal with Express...

"The new hospital has been on my mind like everyone else for best part of 10 years. I have in my past 30 years on Jersey been involved in mostly engineering and spent some of this time working in the existing hospital, which I know better than many.

My initial thought 10 years ago was that Overdale seemed to be a no-brainer, so I went along quietly all this time watching the waste of both time and money whilst sensible ideas were cast into the past.

Pictured: "We should provide a facility that is not hidden, rather boldly reflecting the greatness of the island with a stunning public view to visitors and residents alike." 

I expect my plan will draw both support and rejection, but I believe it’s the duty of every citizen in a democracy to speak their mind to both try and maybe inspire others to do the right thing. Jersey generally does the right thing eventually, but, for reasons unknown, loses so much due to procrastination and maybe over-involvement. We still can get this and have a proud result.

I have neither direct nor indirect reason for any outcome, save my passion to suggest and maybe inspire…

Negatives 

1. Loss of trees – anywhere around Overdale will require some sacrifice, which will have to be accepted for any worthwhile solution, but the greater need must prevail to achieve the greater outcome.
2. A hillside build will be challenging, but Jersey loves a challenge.
3. Access to the Emergency Department is not the easiest for the inner road hillside proposal, 
however either an under-ground pedestrian access walkway or better a public access lift with an over road walkway is possible from the inner road footpath. A Zebra Crossing would also be useful here.
   
   
   
   Pictured: 
A side elevation.
   
   
4. Building close to the Inner Road will have challenges, albeit the recently completed JEC substation further along the road was achieved without any real issues to the normal running of the roadway. There exists the opportunity to either expand the Inner Road area utilising the front park border slope, or to divert traffic from First Tower back onto the Avenue at both First Tower and Tyneville Lane. 

5. The few neighbours on either side may not be happy with this – building in Jersey is never neighbour-short – however, based on site requirements, they are lesser than most other locations.

Positives 

1. The land is all in States ownership, I expect. I appreciate there is Parish land at the Innner Road end of my proposal, but feel it will be a compromise to save the other popular parks and, in the long-term, the Gloucester Street area would likely provide some compensatory return to the Parish. 
2. The proposed areas do not have any real effect on the normal running of the Overdale existing facilities, which could all remain and continue use until the new Hospital is complete. This should save considerable costs, frustrations and time.
   
   
   
   Pictured: What each floor would contain.
   
   
3. As this is Jersey’s largest public build probably for the next 50 years, it should reflect vision and we should provide a facility that is not hidden, rather boldly reflecting the greatness of the island with a stunning public view to visitors and residents alike. We must be confident of providing a facility that should reflect our diversity, our vision, the island's wealth and hopefully be of acclaimed appearance. 
 
4. Building on the slope site will provide incredible views for staff and patients alike - the elevation difference between the top of the hill and the lower road is only in the region of 35 metres, and a sea view is most desirable to all in Jersey, more so beneficial to recovering people. Note: it’s not that steep to dig out – the new Bellozanne works (circa £70m+ development) evidence this – massive hillside removal with a lot more forestry have been lost and were accepted as necessary to achieve the end result, after all it is also a facility for the whole island.
5. Access for Emergency Services is critical, so building close to existing regular ambulance routes makes perfect sense. Access only to Overdale Upper from the Tower Road/Westmount side will be torturous for drivers in an emergency – yes, the ambulance drivers are very skilled, but the public will also have to otherwise follow the difficult rear-only access. Travel time lost in emergency situations should be minimised.
6. Bearing in mind all that is needed to build the hospital and the items required to support it in future, there will be a huge flow of travel – movement of construction, medical supplies, food, etc – from the harbours, town and airport to the site. Easy town access will provide enormous cost savings over time. 

   
   
   
   Pictured: A birds-eye view of the build.
   
   
7. A vertical building saves space and allows for much easier access to areas for people and staff. A large site with spread-out buildings will be more tiresome and reduce staff efficiency
8. The Inner Road site allows for immediate access to the new JEC substation and also has immediate access to the main town sewer and telecoms networks - all these elements available from the inner road can reduce costs substantially. 
9. The remaining areas of the Upper Overdale site provide enormous space for both the required parking and even the likely provision of relocation of mental health units from St. Saviour, as well as additional facilities like independent clinics and other staff buildings.  I believe there is enough space here to centralise all of the health services over time and maybe even a University Hospital Scheme could be incorporated, given the available space remaining. 
10. The proposal enables easy access from town for residents and island-wide access, as it is served by at least five bus routes on the Inner Road. 
11. By building close to the Inner Road there should be less need to provide new and expensive road access to upper Overdale.
    
    
    
    Pictured: I engaged a local architectural designer to improve my idea and this is what he produced in four hours. (Please can anybody explain why the might of Jersey's Government cannot produce a perspective road layout around Westmount with all their power, pull and our pounds?) 
    
    
12. I have made some calculations to support my scheme – the proposed layout plan view of the site equates to some 324,000 square meters of floor space (spread over the 12 floor areas), albeit I have not gone as far as looking at furthering my proposal for the Overdale upper site main entrance clinic wings due to the time before decisions need to be made fast approaching. It may be that for a 300-bed hospital, I may have overdone the scale needed, but you will appreciate I am no hospital professional designer, but I bet your professionals might say, “This guy is not that far off.”


There are possibly more negatives that exist but, to anyone with an idea, it’s hard to see flaws in one’s own thoughts until they are pointed out. I welcome all to add to their ideas too."