Multiple operating theatres in the National Children's Hospital are in need of "minor works" due to a "potential issue" with the air ventilation system, the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board has said.
The public first heard about this issue yesterday morning when Sinn Fein's health spokesperson David Cullinane told RTE about a "very serious" fault with the air ventilation system in the operating theatres. He said it could potentially add "tens of millions to the cost of the children's hospital" and take up to twelve additional months for the completion of the changes.
He said: "An external company was brought in to look at the ventilation system and warned that there were difficulties and problems. The board knew about it in May of last year. The source that I spoke to again this morning, and this is somebody at the heart of this project, tells me that this is very, very serious."
However, according to the NPHDB, the potential changes are only "minor" and would involve the movement of four ceiling grilles in each of the eleven theatres affected. They confirmed they have been aware of the "potential issue" since May 2022, and are addressing it "in a timely and appropriate manner".
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They added: "There has been no material change to the design on the new children’s hospital and the potential works are not on the critical path. This will not cost ‘tens of millions of Euro’, as is being claimed, and is not expected to have an impact on the completion date of the hospital."
The Board's statement failed to disclose how much the additional works would cost.
The NPHDB also explained that the contractors building the hospital, BAM, have been asked to progress works in all areas as quickly as possible – including in the Operating Theatres. They have also been instructed to continue works in accordance with the current design.
There are 5,000 rooms to be completed within the hospital. According to BAM's statement, work is "progressing well and is now over 80 per cent complete" and their "sole focus" is on delivering the Children’s Hospital. They added: "We are continuing to prepare the programme update as required under the contract based on the scope as currently known.
"We are working closely with our client’s design team to support development of the revised scope of work for the operating theatres. BAM has not engaged with any third parties on any of these matters."
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