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A planning application for the new acute hospital facility at Overdale will be ready "at the end of summer" – and "something very drastic" would have to happen to throw the scheme off-track, according to the Health Minister.
Revealing the concept images for the building, Deputy Tom Binet said he was "confident" in the programme, which is expected to cost £710m and will bring an end to the decade-long quest for a new hospital.
The images revealed today were for an acute facility at Overdale – just one element of what's been dubbed the New Healthcare Facilities Programme, which seeks to build in several locations, including creating a health village in St Saviour.
In December, demolition of the dilapidated and unused buildings at Overdale got underway in preparation for the new acute facility, which will include emergency and critical care, women’s and children’s services, operating theatres and inpatient wards.
Pictured: Demolition work at Overdale is already underway in preparation for the new acute facility.
Confirming that a planning application and business case would be submitted within the coming months, Deputy Binet added: “Unless something goes badly wrong, we should be under construction – meaning it is contracted and commenced – within the period of this Government.
"So I am still confident, as confident as I have been from the start."
The controversial saga has seen more than £130 million spent so far across multiple projects spanning different Governments.
This includes plans for an £800m health campus at Overdale under the previous Our Hospital scheme, which was overseen by Deputy Lyndon Farnham when he was Deputy Chief Minister in John Le Fondré's government.
However, those plans were ultimately scrapped in 2022 following a review by Deputy Binet, who was Infrastructure Minister at the time.
Pictured: Health Minister Tom Binet said he remained "confident" that the current plans would bring the long-running hospital saga to a close.
Deputy Binet deemed that the health campus as proposed was “no longer feasible”, citing rises in inflation, borrowing rates, global economic instability and reopening debate over the possibility of a multi-site solution.
Under the new programme, it is estimated that the total cost to deliver an acute facility at Overdale and progress development of the future phases covering an ambulatory facility and health village will be £710m – a cost that has been included within the latest Government Plan.
Deputy Binet said that a business case and planning application would be ready “at the end of the summer”.
“It’s at that point we will put it to the States for final verification," he said.
The Government has said that stakeholder meetings are being held to gather feedback on early proposals for the facility, to help inform the next stage of the building’s design.
This includes sessions with Health and Community Services staff, as well as with residents of Overdale and Kensington Place.
Following this, the concept proposals will be further refined in advance of an island-wide consultation in May.
Pictured: An early concept image showing what the new acute facility at Overdale could look like. (Government of Jersey)
Deputy Binet said: “Engaging with key stakeholders at this stage of the process is essential to make sure we are capturing feedback from those who are more likely to be impacted by the proposals.
“We are making very good progress with the development of the acute hospital, which I hope islanders will see reflected in the concept designs we are sharing at this stage.
"I favour a transparent approach with islanders, and I hope that by sharing the designs at this stage means that our community can get a good sense of the fantastic new facility that is being developed.”
He added: “I look forward to presenting the scheme to islanders in much more detail in the coming months when we will be going out to public consultation.
"In the meantime, I would like to thank everyone for their understanding as we carry out the very important work of engaging with key stakeholders to ensure we are getting the concept design correct.
“If you are an interested party and you think we should be consulting with you at this stage, please do get in touch with the programme team.”
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