THE PLAN to provide additional single rooms for cystic fibrosis patients at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin has been held up again.
Last year the Health Service Executive (HSE) said it would not have funds to begin construction of the new block at St Vincent’s until 2011 at the earliest, despite a promise in 2008 that the new unit would be built by 2010.
After several days of controversy, Minister for Health Mary Harney said developers would be asked to tender for the project on the understanding that they would not be paid any money until it was completed.
In July last year, St Vincent’s confirmed a number of builders had tendered to construct the new facilities and it aimed to appoint a firm to take on the job in October or November.
However The Irish Timeshas now learned that no tender has yet been awarded to any firm to construct the new €40 million unit.
The lowest bidder for the project was Michael McNamara & Co, of which the developer Bernard McNamara was executive chairman and director until the end of January this year.
After a series of questions were put to the company by this newspaper yesterday, the company said St Vincent’s only issued it with a letter signalling its intention to award it the contract on April 23rd last.
“This was some four months after the tender was submitted, therefore the main delay in the process of appointing a contractor has been on the part of the client,” the company said in a statement.
Michael McNamara & Co had difficulty getting financial backing to proceed with the project; the company was advised by the hospital last week that it was moving on to discuss the project with the second lowest bidder.
“Michael McNamara & Co are disappointed with this development and are of the view that insufficient time was afforded to Michael McNamara & Co to put in place the funding, due to the unusual tender structure of a bullet payment on completion of the project,” the company said.
It said it was informed by the hospital that it was moving on to the second bidder on June 14th, only seven weeks following its receipt of the “letter of intent” to award it the contract. It had the insurance bonding facility in place for the project, it added.
However the company went on to say: “Our funders are of the view that the tender structure was inappropriate in the current banking market”.
Other builders may run into similar difficulties getting funding to finance the project, which would be a big disappointment for cystic fibrosis patients.
Provision of the new en suite rooms are essential for cystic fibrosis patients to prevent cross-infection.
The hospital declined to discuss details of the tendering process when contacted yesterday.
Michael McNamara & Co said it previously completed the accident and emergency block at St Vincent’s on time and on budget, “which further adds to our disappointment of the client moving on to the second contractor, which will incur additional costs and delays”.