HSC is entering a partnership with Rihoy & Son to undertake the construction of the first phase of a programme of essential upgrades to the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.

Work is due to start later this month following Policy & Resources Committee approval on 8 March of the Full Business Case for this first phase of work, including the appointment of Rihoy & Son as principle contractor.

The Guernsey firm was selected following a robust tendering process conducted with the local construction industry. All approvals are now in place to finalise and sign the contract with Rihoy & Son, which is expected within days.

Phase 1 involves the refurbishment and extension of the old Ozanne Ward, extending the building’s footprint to the south. Scheduled to be completed over two years, the works will deliver a new purpose-built Critical Care Unit (CCU) with increased capacity from 7 to 12 beds to manage demand and support additional surgery, and a new Post Anaesthesia Recovery Unit with 10 beds that can be swiftly converted to provide additional critical care beds (to support for example any future pandemic demands or other emergency situations).

Additional extensive upgrades, including purpose-built maternity, paediatric and orthopaedic facilities together with modifications to the Emergency Department, are scheduled to delivered in future phases of work beyond 2024, subject to separate Business Case approvals. Full details of the whole ‘Our hospital modernisation’ programme can be found at www.ourfuture.gg/ourhospitalmodernisation.

The need to deliver a series of hospital upgrades was unanimously supported by the States of Deliberation in March 2019 and subsequently prioritised within the Government Work Plan in 2021. It is an essential part of the ongoing strategy to transform the provision of health and social care services so that it can respond to the Bailiwick's ageing population and manage ongoing fiscal pressures. Upgrading the hospital is a priority because demand has already outstripped capacity and facilities across the hospital need to keep pace with modern standards of design and operation.

President of the Committee for Health and Social Care, Deputy Al Brouard, said:

‘We are delighted with the progress that has been made to take forward the critical Our hospital modernisation programme. Preparing to break ground at the PEH is significant, reflecting over two years of extensive work and planning to get this far.

‘Rihoy & Son put in place a bid which fully reflects our requirements. Despite the scale of the programme we will be delivering, the HSC Committee very much views these works as business-as-usual activity to improve essential HSC infrastructure and deliver the facilities our community requires. Our team have taken care to work with stakeholders including our clinicians and those of our partners to make sure we are putting in place the right facilities and only those essential to future-proof our healthcare system.’

Gavin Rihoy, Managing Director of Rihoy & Son, said:

‘The hospital modernisation programme is good for Guernsey in many ways. Our construction industry will benefit in the short term, and the whole population in the longer term. At Rihoy & Son we’re looking forward to being a part of this.’

Completing Phase 1 is expected to cost approximately £32m, which is within the scope of funding approved and expected by the States for the delivery of these works. It is important to note that this figure is the total cost of all associated costs to deliver Phase 1 including planning, architectural design, full construction works, project management, fitting out, clinical equipment and commissioning of the new facilities.

HSC will be managing a dedicated communication process with its staff, service users and the public to ensure all stakeholders are fully aware of any required temporary adjustments to the operation of the hospital throughout these works. To minimise disruption, mitigations will be put in place across the course of the works to ensure that business as usual can be maintained for the community at all times.  

The new CCU will feature modern single rooms with natural light and a new courtyard facility which is recognised to enhance patient experience and recovery. New staff and relative’s facilities will be put in place as part of the Phase 1 works.

Completing the full modernisation programme will deliver a step-change in the delivery of acute hospital services, of which more details can be found on the website.