‘Guaranteed’
HEALTH CHIEF ASSURES COUNCILLORS NEW £15M A&E BUILDING WILL BE BUILT ON TIME AND TO BUDGET DESPITE FEARS OVER ESCALATING COSTS
COUNCILLORS have been assured a new £15 million A&E project will be able to be completed to specification at a time of rising construction costs and labour shortages.
Concerns were voiced when Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee discussed the draft full business case for the new A&E building at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.
Board co-chair Clr Colin Hutchinson (Calderdale, Lab, Skircoat) asked why members were considering a presentation rather than the actual documents - these issues, including financial figures to ascertain project sustainability, also concerned Co-chair Clr Liz Smaje (Kirklees, Con, Bistall and Birkenshaw) and Clr Alison Munro (Kirklees, Lib Dem, Almondbury).
Anna Basford, Director of Transformation and Partnerships at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, said the documents were still going through due diligence and approval up to national level and could not be considered in a public forum until approved.
Clr Howard Blagbrough (Calderdale, Con, Brighouse) said he had concerns about contingencies and escalating costs for the project, given the economic situation.
“How confident are we that it will be built on time, in budget, with the resources we have?
“My fear is we might see the documents too late,” he said. Clr Hutchinson said Calderdale councillors had been told recently there was an eight per cent inflation rate on construction materials, and a significant shortfall in numbers of construction workers.
Stuart Baron, the trust’s Associate Director of Finance, said it had already appointed a construction partner who were on board with the project, had worked with the trust before, and were involved in the costings for the A&E build.
“They have priced that reflecting the current costs and we have a guaranteed maximum price reflected in the full business case,” he said.
Clr Hutchinson asked, where designs might change to meet available resources in these circumstances,
They have priced that reflecting the current costs and we have a guaranteed maximum price.
what precautions had been taken to ensure changes would not have a significant impact on the department’s long term operation.
Dr Mark Davies, clinical lead involved in the reconfiguration process, said clinicians had been involved in the process and he was confident the new building would have the desired impact.
Co-chair Clr Liz Smaje wanted to know about the backlog of estate matters that needed addressing.
Mr Baron said it was a significant figure with £85 million worth of work needing to be done the £50 million being put into HRI and other commitments would not fully address that, but the trust was looking to maximise value for money by, instead of spending on old estate, building the new A&E.
In reply to a question from Clr Blagbrough, Dr Davies said the current emergency department would run until the new building was ready and changes would be communicated to the public, as would changes to reconfigured services, which were available at which hospitals.
Clr Harpreet Uppal (Kirklees, Lab, Ashbrow) asked if the start date had been delayed and if social values were built into the project, for example providing apprenticeships.
Ms Basford said the late 2021 start date was dependant on completion of the approvals, hence moving the date to 2022.