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The next elements of the hospital modernisation have been combined into one single phase, with the total capital cost likely to be “well over” £100m, according to the President of Health and Social Care.
Planning permission has already been granted for the project, which features significant new-build facilities and refurbishment including four extra theatres, a neonatal intensive care unit, the emergency department, and a new breast unit.
Deputy Al Brouard told a Scrutiny hearing yesterday that it would be “foolish with the demographics we face and the challenges we have ahead of us not to take the opportunity to increase the size of our hospital.
“It’s a substantial piece of building. It won’t future proof out hospital because nobody will be able to do that, but it will give us a substantial increase in our ability to service the needs of our population.”
An HSC spokesperson previously said it would be inappropriate to reveal the total estimated costs of the project before going to tender.
Senior health officials said phase two and three were combined to provide the best pathway for delivering the project for the States and the prospective construction partner.
Pictured: Phase two was due to commence next year.
Policy & Resources is currently reviewing the scope and scale of major public building projects and are due to report back at the end of the month.
Question marks were raised over the viability of the hospital modernisation project during the tax debate, with Deputy Peter Ferbrache noting that phase two is running £15m over initial cost estimates.
Inflationary pressures and shrinking public funds led him to suggest that the next phase may need to be stopped if a sustainable funding mechanism is not adopted, he added. P&R has delayed approving phase two for those reasons.
Deputy Brouard told the Scrutiny panel that he was unsure as to whether the spend would require approval by the States Assembly after P&R lost its ability to approve capital project spending worth between £5m and £0.5bn.
Watch: A senior health official explaining the current state of play with phase two.
Senior project bosses hoped that politicians and the public would see the value of a 50-year investment into critical health infrastructure.
It’s hoped that construction on the next phase can begin as soon as current works are completed. Phase one of the modernisation programme is well underway and senior officials said it is on course to complete in March 2024, within budget.
Total costs for that part of the programme are around £34m, which includes construction, transition, training, and additional recruitment.
When it was proposed in March 2019, the entire modernisation project was expected to cost between £72.3m and £93.4m over 10-years.
Hospital project's next phase paused over cost fears
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