'Shocking' pipework issue at already delayed maternity hospital

A new issue with medical gas pipework at Belfast's long-delayed new maternity hospital has emerged, the Health Minister has confirmed.

Mike Nesbitt told the Assembly that the scale of the problem is believed to be limited to an isolated section of the hospital.

The hospital, at the Royal Victoria site in Belfast, is already almost 10 years behind schedule after numerous delays, but it was hoped it would finally open next year.

In recent months it has been revealed that a high presence of a bacteria in its water system could cause more delay.

In a statement to the BBC's Nolan Show, the Belfast Trust said it had commissioned an independent review by industry-leading experts into the water systems at the hospital.

The trust said it had recently received an interim report from the independent experts and was currently “reviewing the findings and recommendations in light of the clinical risk assessments for all services planned within the building”.

Following this review, the trust said it anticipated being able to advise the Department of Health and the Health Committee of the next steps for the building.

The Belfast Trust took possession of the five-storey building in March and began a "clinical commissioning phase" - a process of ensuring a safe transition of service to the new site.

Mr Nesbitt said he had only been made aware of the separate gas pipework issue on Tuesday morning.

Nesbitt said he was "deeply dissatisfied" by the emergence of the problem and when he had been informed about it.

The development came during a debate brought by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) criticising the delay in opening the site.

DUP MLA Diane Dodds called for an independent inquiry to take place and said figures showed a potentially dangerous bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was found in 459 water outlets in the maternity hospital.

Responding to the motion calling for an independent inquiry, Mr Nesbitt said: “When I went to bed last night I was not in favour of that, not least because the cost and time associated with a further independent inquiry could be in the order of £3m per annum with a significant time impact and no guarantee of improvement and it could potentially stymie progress.

“However, as of eight o’clock this morning I have become aware of another issue.

“I know Mrs Dodds is very well informed on these issues so I challenge her, I give her 24 hours to discover what the latest problem is with the maternity hospital.

“It is another shocking, another totally shocking revelation.”

Nesbitt later returned to the chamber and provided clarity on the issue, ahead of a vote on the DUP motion.

The vote on the motion passed by 61 to nine, with only the Ulster Unionists and People Before Profit voting against it.

Dodds described the situation as an “omnishambles”.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme Dodds said the minister’s initial response in the chamber had not been “suitable” and said there was growing concern about the cost and further delays.

“If he (the minister) knew about a new problem in the context of the debate he should have told us,” she said.

Dodds said she believed the new cost estimate of £97m will rise further because of the gas pipe issue and confirmation that 36% of the hospital’s water system is contaminated with pseudomonas.

“That is extremely dangerous and will have to be fixed,” she said, adding that rising costs and further delays will have a “knock on impact on the overall capital budget for health and other projects will not be able to proceed obviously because of it.”

Dodds said she welcomed the support of the majority of MLAs for an inquiry.

According to an Audit Office report published in February, work on the new maternity building commenced in November 2017.

It said phase one was on track for completion in August 2020, phase two was expected to be completed in March 2021 and phase three in September 2021.

The Department of Health told auditors that Pseudomonas bacteria was detected in the water system during the commissioning process for Phase One.

The auditors said the hospital was originally expected to be completed by the end of 2015.

The report said: “Whilst the new maternity hospital has been substantively built it is not operational.

"The latest estimated date for completion of the final phase of the maternity hospital is June 2025, almost 10 years late.

"The original cost estimate was £57m, with costs now expected to be £97m.”

The new hospital is expected to have an admission unit, early pregnancy department and an active birthing centre with 10 dedicated rooms for mothers who choose midwifery-led care.

Also included in the development is a new neonatal unit with 45 cots.

A 10-bed ward is also located directly above the theatres to facilitate the care of high risk antenatal and postnatal women.

Analysis from our Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly:

The headline in all of this is the astronomical costs and it’s been a litany of problems one after another.

Remember - this is taxpayers’ money – it is serious because it is about public accountability.

People will ask, what was the sequence of events leading up to the checks that were carried out before the building was signed off?

Who accepted the building?

Did they know about the problems?

These are questions people want answers to and it is now being suggested that a public inquiry is needed in order to get to the bottom of those questions.

• 1999: It is proposed maternity services should be located in a new hospital on the Royal Hospital site
• 2005: Plans emerge for a new combined Women’s and Children’s Hospital but the idea is shelved because of capital funding constraints
• 2010: Then health minister Michael McGimpsey initiates a review that proposes to put the maternity unit on the top three floors of the Critical Care building on the Royal Victoria Hospital site
• 2015: The £57m maternity hospital’s expected completion date as first put forward by McGimpsey in 2010
• 2017: Work on the new maternity building, the first phase of the overall project, begins with an estimated completion date of 2020
• 2019: An Audit Office report details the hospital is six years overdue and is £17m over budget. Estimated costs rise to £74m
• 2020: The Covid-19 pandemic impacts construction. Phase one of the project had been due to be complete in August 2020
• 2021: Phase two - the demolition of the existing neonatal wing - expected to be completed in March while the third phase, the construction of a bridge link to the Critical Care Centre, had a September completion date
• 2022: The department informs the Audit Office that the budget has increased to £97.1m
• 2023: The Audit Office records overall spend had reached £89.5m
• 2024: The Belfast Trust says further significant delays are likely due to the to the high presence of the pseudomonas bacteria in the water system
• 2024: The health minister Mike Nesbitt confirms an issue with medical gas pipework at Belfast's long-delayed new maternity hospital has emerged