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Irish hospital to get revamp
00:00 15 Aug 2001
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by Laura Hailstone
A Northern Ireland hospital that has gone nearly 40 years without any form of expansion or renovation is set for a £98m development programme, phased over seven years.
The Ulster Hospital's modernisation plan consists of four phases. The initial phase, addressing deficiencies in critical medical equipment and costing £1.5m, has already been implemented. Phase two, totalling £28m, is a combination of nine separate projects. These include three new wards, a new operating theatre and refurbishment of the old theatre.
Health, social services and public safety minister Bairbre de Br£n, who announced the development plans for the 1962-built hospital, has so far only approved one element of phase two - the reinstatement of 20 adult inpatient beds in Jaffe Ward, at a cost of £2m.
Director of acute services Seamus McGoran said: "The minister has approved the whole of phase two in principle, we're just waiting for individual approval of all nine elements of the phase." He anticipates that approval will be granted shortly as the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) only needs to find half of the £28m funding needed for phase two as £14m has already been earmarked for the project.
McGoran said it was too early to say exactly when tendering for phase two will begin, but said he "hoped to move quickly" and tendering will probably commence next year. Work on phase two is expected to take three years.
The Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust submitted a strategic development plan for the hospital last year setting out a vision of modernisation. The plan examined the case for refurbishment and expansion at the present site as well as building a new hospital at an alternative site.
"It was deemed best value to refurbish the existing hospital," explained McGoran. "A new hospital on a greenfield site would have cost an estimated £218m."
Certain elements of the development programme will be funded via PFI. "Around £12.5m will be PFI," said McGoran.
Phases three and four of the refurbishment programme, which do not yet have start dates, will include extension and upgrading of the A&E unit and outpatient facilities, and substantial remedial work to the structure of the hospital.
The trust will be required to submit to the DHSSPS business cases for each stage of the refurbishment before any public funds are approved.
A Northern Ireland hospital that has gone nearly 40 years without any form of expansion or renovation is set for a £98m development programme, phased over seven years.
The Ulster Hospital's modernisation plan consists of four phases. The initial phase, addressing deficiencies in critical medical equipment and costing £1.5m, has already been implemented. Phase two, totalling £28m, is a combination of nine separate projects. These include three new wards, a new operating theatre and refurbishment of the old theatre.
Health, social services and public safety minister Bairbre de Br£n, who announced the development plans for the 1962-built hospital, has so far only approved one element of phase two - the reinstatement of 20 adult inpatient beds in Jaffe Ward, at a cost of £2m.
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Director of acute services Seamus McGoran said: "The minister has approved the whole of phase two in principle, we're just waiting for individual approval of all nine elements of the phase." He anticipates that approval will be granted shortly as the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) only needs to find half of the £28m funding needed for phase two as £14m has already been earmarked for the project.
McGoran said it was too early to say exactly when tendering for phase two will begin, but said he "hoped to move quickly" and tendering will probably commence next year. Work on phase two is expected to take three years.
The Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust submitted a strategic development plan for the hospital last year setting out a vision of modernisation. The plan examined the case for refurbishment and expansion at the present site as well as building a new hospital at an alternative site.
"It was deemed best value to refurbish the existing hospital," explained McGoran. "A new hospital on a greenfield site would have cost an estimated £218m."
Certain elements of the development programme will be funded via PFI. "Around £12.5m will be PFI," said McGoran.
Phases three and four of the refurbishment programme, which do not yet have start dates, will include extension and upgrading of the A&E unit and outpatient facilities, and substantial remedial work to the structure of the hospital.
The trust will be required to submit to the DHSSPS business cases for each stage of the refurbishment before any public funds are approved.
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