The UL Hospitals Group has confirmed that the new accident and emergency unit at Dooradoyle will be delayed into 2017.
It had been hoped that the facility would open late next year, but now the hospitals' group CEO Colette Cowen has confirmed that this target will be missed.
A contract, worth around €25 million, has been awarded to allow for the new Emergency Department to be completed and also for a new 24-bed dialysis unit to be opened.
The UL Hospitals Group has released the following statement on the matter:
A public works contract has been awarded for the fit-out and completion of the new emergency department and also for the delivery of a new 24-bed dialysis unit at University Hospital Limerick.
John Sisk & Son Holdings Ltd are the successful contractor for both these works following completion of the public procurement process and commenced setting up on site last week. The estimated combined cost of both projects is circa €25million (including VAT) and it is anticipated they will take approximately 18 months overall to complete. The new emergency department will be located on the ground floor of both the critical care block and the adjacent extension and will be three times the size of the current ED space.
A new state-of-the-art new dialysis unit will be provided on the first floor of the extension block on the same floor level as the hospitals new intensive care unit. This new dialysis unit project is being generously supported by the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust with support from the JP McManus Pro-Am Committee. It is expected to be operational within 12 months, with the emergency department taking longer due to the number of phases involved and the complexity of the associated works – including the new electrical switch room and the phased diversion of existing electrical services serving both the critical care block and the existing theatre and paediatric blocks at the hospital.
Colette Cowan, CEO, UL Hospitals Group, said: “We are delighted to have the builders setting up on site. New hoarding has gone up for the site compound and the work is about to commence. We are delighted to have Sisk’s – a renowned building contractor with a track record of successfully completing major healthcare projects, including our own critical care unit – delivering the new ED for us.”
Ms Cowan said that the new emergency department was designed with the comfort of patients very much in mind.
“Once delivered, it will mean a much improved patient experience in terms of access and their journey through the hospital. It will also mean more dignity and privacy for our patients, who when this is complete will be treated in pod-like facilities where they will get specialist care. Within the new build there will be areas for the elderly, for paediatric patients, for major injuries, more minor injuries and so on – with the different cohorts of patients grouped together than all mixed and the patient flows more efficiently managed,” said Ms Cowan.
While acknowledging that the original target opening date of the end of 2016 for the ED may not be met, Ms Cowan said it was important to plan such a complex project properly.
“We had hoped to open by the end of 2016 but these things can sometimes take a bit longer than planned and the most important thing is that the contract is now awarded. We had to plan for the various engineering challenges which we need to overcome in ensuring continuity of care for patients while such a major project is underway and also had to allow for the necessary due diligence and tender clarification process before the contract could be awarded . What we want is a facility that the region and the country can be proud of – and which is no less than our patients and staff deserve. And that is what we will deliver in the first quarter of 2017,” Ms Cowan said.
She also paid tribute to the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust and to the JP McManus Charitable Foundation for their support of the new dialysis unit.
“There is a growing demand nationally for dialysis and this unit is a key requirement for us. What is being provided is a 24-bedded unit including four isolation rooms and five four station bays which will be state-of-the-art,” Ms Cowan said.
With work on the Clinical Education and Research Centre (CERC) building – co-funded by the HSE and the University of Limerick and also being delivered by Sisk’s – already underway, it brings to just over €35 million the value of the capital projects to have commenced on the hospital campus in the last month.
