Belfast Health Trust questioned over hospital delays

A subordinate of Stormont's wellness committee has asked if Belfast Health Trust should beryllium placed connected "special measures" considering the delays and costs surrounding Belfast's caller maternity hospital.

Senior spot executives and Department of Health officials were summoned to the committee pursuing further revelations astir the facility, which is astir a decennary down schedule.

It emerged that successful the worst-case script of fixing the problems determination could beryllium a further hold of up to 4 years with an further outgo of up to £9m.

A perchance unsafe bacteria was archetypal discovered successful the h2o systems astatine the infirmary successful 2022 and means determination is nary day yet for its opening.

Experts are presently carrying a reappraisal into however important the occupation is astatine the tract astatine the Royal Victoria Hospital.

About £50,000 is to beryllium spent repairing the latest contented with aesculapian state pipework, however connected Thursday the committee heard that the worst-case script of h2o tube repairs could tally into galore millions.

A infirmary spot oregon installation is placed successful peculiar measures erstwhile its rated arsenic being "inadequate"; erstwhile questions are raised implicit enactment oregon erstwhile it is incapable to marque capable improvements successful a tenable timeframe.

Typically to grip each this idiosyncratic from extracurricular the spot is appointed to oversee what is happening.

In what was billed arsenic a fact-finding workout into what has gone incorrect astatine the maternity hospital, the committee's impermanent seat Linda Dillon said she was "absolutely confused" pursuing a briefing by the trust's interim main enforcement Maureen Edwards.

"It is precise broad what you person fixed us, but I americium confused inactive astir wherever the work lay," Dillon said.

"Learning is 1 thing, but if determination is accountability past that besides needs to play its part.

"If determination are radical who didn't bash the close happening oregon who made a mistake oregon knew that thing antithetic should person been done, past we request to cognize and recognize that, due to the fact that it was nationalist money."

Ms Edwards said that the afloat study into the contented of the pseudomonas bacteria astatine the infirmary would find 3 imaginable courses of action.

The worst lawsuit was that the full h2o pipework would beryllium replaced astatine a outgo of £7-9m and could instrumentality 3 to 4 years, she told assembly members.

"I recognise, and I so share, the wellness committee's vexation and the public's vexation with the delays and the outgo increases associated with the maternity infirmary scheme," she said.

"Our absorption astatine this juncture is evidently to safely unfastened a 21st period infirmary that the mothers and babies of Northern Ireland deserve, but we cognize that needs to beryllium safe."

The SDLP's Colin McGrath asked questions astir however the spot was spending nationalist wealth and who was holding it to account.

Addressing the Department of Health officials, helium said: "You are the guys who are expected to beryllium keeping an oculus connected these guys (the wellness trust) and the enactment they are doing.

"If it were anyplace else, I would suspect, politely, these guys would beryllium successful peculiar measures, they possibly arsenic a spot can't beryllium trusted with nationalist wealth successful presumption of delivering services, due to the fact that they are going mode implicit budget."

In September, the BBC revealed that pseudomonas was again discovered astatine the maternity infirmary conscionable weeks aft it was officially accepted by the spot from the contractor.

The spot took possession of the five-story gathering successful March this year, but precocious levels of the bug were discovered successful h2o pipes a period aboriginal aft a four-week operating workout and illustration testing.

Trust officials said that portion the erstwhile main enforcement (Dr Cathy Jack) had signed for the building, connected a task that size it is not the sole work of conscionable 1 idiosyncratic but alternatively respective groups and the erstwhile main enforcement had signed connected everyone's behalf.

The board's chair, Ciaran Mulgrew, said it had been crossed each the problems since earlier 2023 and helium said "no-one is shirking responsibility".

Earlier this year, the Northern Ireland Audit Office said the latest estimated day for completion of the last signifier of the maternity infirmary is June 2025.

"The archetypal outgo estimation was £57m, with costs present expected to beryllium £97m," it said successful a report.

The committee besides heard astir different issues, including occurrence alarms and caregiver telephone buttons, which person been addressed and were nary longer being treated arsenic reddish emblem rated issues which could hold opening.

The BBC understands astir £200,000 was spent connected the occurrence alarm problems, which was not afloat tested earlier the handover.

Nurse telephone alarms which had besides been faulty are present working.

The section officials and spot executives said they were not alert of immoderate different large problems with the maternity infirmary but said nary task could ever beryllium guaranteed to beryllium problem-free.