Tufton insists red tape not hindering Cornwall renovation

WESTERN BUREAU:

The renovation of the beleaguered Cornwall Regional Hospital can be completed by the first quarter of 2022 if the Government speeds up administrative procedures that have hobbled the project, Professor Archibald McDonald has charged.

McDonald, head of the oversight committee spearheading the renovation, was responding to Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton’s pledge of a major shake-up in the management of the project in 2021.

Tufton rejected claims by construction industry professionals, as well as McDonald, that bureaucratic bungling was to blame for the botched hospital renovation.

The minister emerged from a meeting with contractors on Monday defiant that he would push for Cabinet action to rein in runaway spending.

“I can’t say what the final outcome will be, but what I can say is that I will certainly go with recommendations for some adjustments,” the minister told The Gleaner Monday evening.

The three-year-long project has been marred by delays and countercharges of blame in the renovation of the Type A Montego Bay hospital, with the scope of works snowballing from ventilation fixes into wide-scale structural overhaul.

It has emerged that the coordination between the project management team, led by Raymond McIntyre, and architects and engineers has been criticised for failed deliverables.

Hands-off approach

The project management team has been lambasted for a hands-off approach and not offering timely technical guidance and oversight.

Variations have thrown off the budget, The Gleaner has learnt, with at least renovation more than doubling from the initial estimate of $100 million.

McIntyre sought on Monday to downplay the spat over the multibillion-dollar rehabilitation snags.

“It’s very simple. We just need to recalibrate to move forward. That’s all,” McIntyre told The Gleaner.

However, when pressed to explain multiple reported variations in the scope of works, he referred the newspaper to the Ministry of Health.

“I don’t think I am going to engage in any further discussion on that matter,” he said.

McDonald, who chairs the five-member oversight committee, denied knowledge of coordination problems.

“We have never heard that from anybody. If it is so, it’s a well-kept secret,” said McDonald, who described McIntyre as a hard worker “sometimes almost tearing his heart out”.

McDonald disclosed that the oversight committee has recommended to the Ministry of Health that more appropriate measures be taken to minimise delays in approval. He said, bluntly, that red tape was slowing the renovation.

“When the project manager sends off a document, it has to be signed by X number of persons before it reaches the real decision-maker which is the permanent secretary,” McDonald said of the procurement process, which he described as tedious and time-consuming.

“In fact, it takes too long,” he stated. “It takes months before it gets back to the project manager so he can get the work moving.”

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