01.06.18
Post-Carillion Birmingham hospital delays set to cost eight-figure sum, trust boss says
Delays on the building of a new Midlands hospital due to the downfall of Carillion could bring the total cost into eight figures, the boss of an NHS trust has said.
Progress on the building of the Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Smethwick was paused when the construction giant went bust in January. Now Toby Lewis, chief executive of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, which is behind the new hospital, has claimed costs could soar if the building is not weather-proofed by winter.
In a report to Sandwell Council, the trust boss has said exposure to adverse weather in some sections would need to be reworked, putting back the already-delayed opening date to even later than 2022.
Lewis said: “We need to get people on the site, reducing the deteriorating of the site with the weather and preventing us having to rebuild parts of the two-thirds built hospital. We need to agree with government and others how best we can do that.”
Last month a Commons inquiry found that the hospitals stalled by the Carillion closure was a result of “recklessness, hubris, and greed.”
The collapse of Carillion meant the two-thirds built hospital was expected to require an extra £125m on top of its £350m original bill, and to be built by 2019 or 2020. But now, exposure to elements during the winter will add to the total bill in addition to a two-year delay on the opening date of the hospital.
The report will be discussed further by Sandwell councilors on 7 June.
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