Deputy Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham, who chairs the Our Hospital political oversight group, said he hoped States Members would support ministers’ choice of Overdale as the site for the new hospital.
The debate, which could bring to an end the multi-million site-selection saga, is due to begin days after the publication on Friday of a Scrutiny panel review which is highly critical of the process which led to the announcement of ministers’ preferred site.
The Future Hospital Review Panel outlined a number of flaws and concerns with the process and questioned whether a total cost of £800 million would
represent good value for money.
Panel chairwoman Senator Kristina Moore has tabled a series of amendments which she said would bring more ‘rigour’ to the process, but Senator Farnham stressed he did not wish to see the project delayed further.
‘We are on a very tight timescale, so any attempts to delay the project would be costly to Islanders and not in the best interests of building the new hospital,’ he said.
‘At this stage of the game, to vote against the proposition, given the high importance of the project for future generations, would be tantamount to voting against having a new hospital at all.’
Islanders and States Members had been provided with a ‘huge amount’ of information regarding the project, Senator Farnham said, with Members given ‘almost a dozen separate briefings on all aspects of the project’.
Discussions with Scrutiny would continue over the weekend and up to the point of the debate, he added.
‘We will look at the amendments with an open mind and work with Scrutiny – we hope to be able to take on board some of their suggestions,’ he said.
Senator Farnham said that Scrutiny complaints about the absence of information relating to costings and design were not valid. The preferred site had to be formally adopted first, he said, with more detailed work following later, in order not to repeat mistakes made at previous stages of the project.
‘We have wasted too many years and far too much money by letting politics get in the way of making an important decision,’ he said.
Although he acknowledged that the decision rested with States Members, Senator Farnham said he was optimistic of keeping the project on track.
‘Ministers and the Political Oversight Group are very content with the selection process – it has been very robust. We are firmly behind it and hope the Assembly will support it.’
The hospital project has been dogged by delays stretching back almost a decade, with two successive planning applications for the current Gloucester Street site being rejected. This prompted States Members to overturn the decision to build there in January 2019 and led to a new project team being formed.
In July of this year, the government announced a shortlist of five sites. This was subsequently cut to two, with ministers then indicating that Overdale was their preferred option ahead of People’s Park.
If Overdale is approved this week, it is hoped that the new hospital could open in 2026.
