{"id":1225,"date":"2012-03-02T11:55:04","date_gmt":"2012-03-02T11:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/?p=1225"},"modified":"2012-03-05T12:26:29","modified_gmt":"2012-03-05T12:26:29","slug":"hospital-developer-speaks-out-2nd-march-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/2012\/03\/hospital-developer-speaks-out-2nd-march-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Hospital Developer speaks out, 02\/03\/; read Responses 05\/03\/2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

Irish Times 2nd March 2012<\/h2>\n

Building national hospital for children in nine steps<\/h1>\n
\n
JAMES SHEEHAN<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

OPINION:<\/strong>\u00a0AS A concerned citizen, I have been appalled by the handling of the project for a new National Children\u2019s Hospital. Having instigated, planned, developed, and commissioned three hospitals in the country in the past 30 years, ie Blackrock, Galway and Hermitage clinics, I have gained some experience in this area.<\/p>\n

All three hospitals were built within 18 months and within budget. Because of my interest and expertise in hospital development, I was invited to join the board of Crumlin hospital in 2004 to help with the design and planning of a new facility in Crumlin.<\/p>\n

After two years on the board and after much deliberation, I concluded that Ireland required one new paediatric hospital to serve the entire country, both North and South.<\/p>\n

Not alone would this hospital serve the nation but it would be a wonderful expression of unity for our next generation by bringing both North and South together for paediatric care.A single hospital would be optimally utilised, serving a population of approximately five million by international standards.<\/p>\n

I visited numerous children\u2019s hospitals abroad to formulate my ideas.All co-located hospitals that I visited appeared to be a compromise and I concluded that the first essential was unlimited scope on a green-field site.<\/p>\n

This permits the option to add a maternity hospital and indeed adult speciality areas to serve the needs of the maturing children for conditions such as cystic fibrosis, orthopaedic and cardiac disorders as indicated.<\/p>\n

I discussed the situation with the then minister for health, Mary Harney; the then chairman of Crumlin hospital, Cardinal Connell and his successor, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin; and the board of Crumlin hospital.<\/p>\n

I arranged conceptual plans for a new hospital on a greenfield site adjacent to the M50 as this hospital has to serve the nation, not just citizens of the inner city.<\/p>\n

A proposal was submitted in March 2005 to all relevant parties, and I pledged that I would voluntarily undertake to develop the facility and have it fully commissioned by April 1st, 2008.<\/p>\n

My proposal was never seriously considered and the political process took over with all the vested interests having a voice, leading to our current sorry state of turmoil and indecision.<\/p>\n

The present design appears admirable but it is totally unsuitable on the Mater site. It could be a magnificent structure situated in a parkland setting with adequate space for adjacent and complementary developments.<\/p>\n

It could be built and commissioned in a two-year period and, once again I offer my expertise on a voluntary basis to achieve this outcome. This offer of help is subject to no political interference, vested interest groups or committees.<\/p>\n

Why can we not show the Irish nation that it can be done, and give some glimmer of hope to a battered country?<\/p>\n

Over the three hospital projects in which I have been involved, I have realised that to achieve the end point, nine basic principles have to be adhered to uncompromisingly:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0Freeze all plans prior to construction;<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>\u00a0Specify all major equipment prior to commencing construction;<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>\u00a0Minimise construction and commissioning to a maximum of two years and preferably one year;<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>\u00a0Purchase all essential fixtures and fittings in advance and store them in an adjacent warehouse to obviate delays in construction;<\/p>\n

5<\/strong>\u00a0Include all fixed fittings in the contract so that subsequent construction is eliminated;<\/p>\n

6<\/strong>\u00a0Fix the construction contract price with a no-variation clause;<\/p>\n

7<\/strong>\u00a0Prohibit any alterations that are deemed necessary until the contract is completed and the building handed over;<\/p>\n

8<\/strong>\u00a0Hold weekly meetings of the design team with only the principals involved, so that instant decisions can be made as construction progresses;<\/p>\n

9<\/strong>\u00a0Fix all design team fees at the onset.<\/p>\n

In relation to the \u20ac36 million already spent on planning, where did this go?<\/p>\n

Please can we have a breakdown as this seems unbelievable. Was most of it spent on ink cartridges?<\/p>\n

Once again, I reiterate my commitment to undertake and deliver this hospital in a totally transparent and accountable fashion, provided I am allowed to do it largely on my own with a design team committed to the above mentioned principles.<\/p>\n

My only other requirement is a pledge from Government that the money is available and not on the never-never, as normally happens, to prevent the project being drawn out for an indefinite period.<\/p>\n

I would be privileged to deliver a new children\u2019s hospital to the nation on time, and on budget.<\/p>\n

My only vested interest is ensuring a centre of excellence for our children and grandchildren for the years to come.<\/p>\n

\n

James Sheehan, FRCSI, PhD, CEng. Hon, FIEI FIAE, is the developer behind the Blackrock, Galway and Hermitage clinics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Irish Times 2nd March 2012 Building national hospital for children in nine steps JAMES SHEEHAN OPINION:\u00a0AS A concerned citizen, I have been appalled by the handling of the project for a new National Children\u2019s Hospital. Having instigated, planned, developed, and commissioned three hospitals in the country in the past 30 years, ie Blackrock, Galway and … Continue reading Hospital Developer speaks out, 02\/03\/; read Responses 05\/03\/2012<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1225"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1225"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1246,"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1225\/revisions\/1246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewchildrenshospital.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}