Covid delay to £33.2m centre

Supply chain issues and Covid-19 restrictions have hampered construction work on Fife’s new £33.2 million Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital, it has emerged.

NHS Fife has heard that the planned on-site completion date has now been moved from September 23 2022 to October 10 2022, due to the late delivery of concrete earlier this year.

Steel contractors also either became infected with Covid or had to selfisolate, which has also affected timescales, while workers have encountered “unchartered services” in the ground which had to be negotiated around.

Hopes remain high, that the state-of-the-art building – which will house three new theatres together with a 34-bed in-patient ward and outpatient accommodation – can be operational by January 2023.

However, it remains to be seen how the impact of Brexit and restrictions sparked by the emergence of the Omicron variant will pan out over the remainder of the project.

Ben Johnston, head of capital planning and project director, said: “The full business case was approved by the NHS Fife board in November 2020 and then by the Scottish Capital Investment Group on March 11 2021, allowing the construction phase of the project to commence.

“Following the completion of car park enabling works, the project started on site on March 1 2021 and is currently due for completion in October 2022. Following a client transfer and commissioning period, it is anticipated that the facility will be operational in December 2022/January 2023.”

Mr Johnson also revealed that there is a “contractual issue” to resolve in respect to Covid-19 and risk ownership, with the contract containing a Covid-19 clause that seems

to place the risk of material price increases and late delivery of materials with the primary supply chain provider (PSCP) – in this case, Graham Construction.

The company is contesting that position and the wording of the clause, but the issue in itself should not affect project timescales.

“From our perspective the matter will either not be a compensation event in

which case the PSCP will assume the risk, or it will be a compensation event in which case financial relief will be secured through the Scottish Government,” Mr Johnson said.

Board members also heard that the Fife Health Charity had approved a request for £312,000 towards supporting a number of patient and staff enhancements on the site.

“This will help to realise the vision of creating a true

centre of orthopaedic excellence benefiting patients and staff,” Mr Johnson said.

Measures incorporated to mitigate delays so far include improvements to the site welfare environment to reduce the risk of Covid-19; access to a larger site area allowing materials to be procured in advance, and the provision of a concrete hopper, cutting the risk of concrete shortages.

SETBACK: The pandemic has caused problems for steel contractors working on the new Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.