WEXFORD MRI CONCERN OVER CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OVERRUN

THE CHAIRMAN of the Friends of Wexford General Hospital has admitted that the level of overspend on the National Children’s Hospital in Dublin is a cause for concern when it comes to getting Wexford’s long-awaited MRI unit built.

The cost of the children’s hospital, which will be located at St James’s Hospital, has spiralled from an initial estimate of €650 million in April 2016 to a projected cost of €1.7bn, and An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar stressed the while no projects would be cancelled, delays in many of them were inevitable.

Among the many projects due to be completed is the MRI machine for Wexford General Hospital which is currently at planning stages, following the raising of a €250,000 contribution from the public.

Chairmen of the Friends group, Ciaran Sheridan, said they had no indication, as of yet, if what was happening with the children’s hospital would impact on the MRI, but said it was a worrying development.

‘I would certainly be concerned that this might have a negative impact on our project. The overspend on the children’s hospital is going to put a huge hole in resources,’ he said. The Friends spearheaded an 18-month fundraising campaign to raise funds that would see the MRI project moved up the list of capital projects. Last October, they announced that their target had been reached and, at that time, it was hoped that the MRI could be in place within two years.

Mr Sheridan said that there was a capital projects team in the hospital that was working on a number of projects including the MRI. A temporary MRI scanner, which has capacity for some emergency cases, is currently in place in the hospital.

He stressed that the money raised throughout the county over the last two years was ringfenced for the hospital project and would not be handed over until the MRI facility is under construction.