BHB selects Paget Health Services as preferred bidder in new hospital building project.

Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) today announces that it has selected Paget Health Services as preferred bidder to design, build, finance and maintain a new building on the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital site. Paget Health Services is a consortium of local and international firms with knowledge and experience appropriate for the project. Full membership of the preferred bid team is set out below.

The new building will be a purpose-built structure that addresses the shortage of space for acute care services detailed in the 2008 Johns Hopkins Medicine International Phase II review. The building will include 90 single-occupancy en suite patient rooms; Bermuda’s first dedicated day surgery unit; ambulatory care services like oncology, dialysis, asthma and diabetes; diagnostic imaging services; a new emergency room and a new utility plant. The new building will allow BHB to offer health and wellness services in an environment that provides the privacy, comfort and dignity that Bermuda’s patients deserve. It will also ease pressure on the existing KEMH building, allowing space there to be reallocated.

Three shortlisted bid teams submitted proposals to design, build, finance, and maintain the building over the life of the project agreement, a period of 30 years. BHB evaluated the proposals based on pre-established criteria. The evaluation, which was conducted based on international best practice, proved that Paget Health Services best met BHB’s specifications while offering best value to Bermuda. BHB expects to finalise the contract with Paget Health Services before the end of the year.

The members of Paget Health Services’ team represent a combination of both Bermudian and international companies that have significant experience with projects of this nature. The project will provide significant opportunities for Bermudians.

BHB CEO David Hill says, “BHB was very pleased to receive bids from three strong consortia in response to the RFP we released to the shortlisted teams in December 2009. The selection of preferred bidder marks yet another milestone BHB has reached on schedule, as we near the end of our procurement process.”

Deputy CEO Venetta Symonds says, “As the executive lead for the Board on this project, I believe it is significant that our staff, supported by our clinical advisory team, determined what was required clinically for Bermuda. I am very proud of the level of commitment shown by all members of the evaluation team. We are now another step closer to opening the doors of a new building that is purpose built for Bermuda’s future acute healthcare requirements.”

Chairman of Bermuda Hospitals Board Herman Tucker adds, “This new construction project on the KEMH site is a top Board priority and the selection of preferred bidder is a vital step that continues to move us forward. The new building will improve BHB’s ability to provide quality acute care services in a better environment for patients and staff. But we are not waiting for new or upgraded buildings; we are improving now. We have implemented many initiatives in response to feedback from our patients and we are offering more specialist services here on the island by having doctors from our various overseas healthcare partners travel to Bermuda rather than having patients travel abroad.“

Work to prepare the KEMH site for the new building continues, with BHB’s new substation and parking lot project nearing completion. These will replace the parking lots and substation on the development site, which must be demolished to make way for the new structure. Staff and services are moving out of buildings on the development zone in phases. Once the contract is finalised, the management of the development zone will be turned over the BHB’s private partner. BHB retains ownership of the land and the building under construction.

Groundbreaking is anticipated soon after contract signature, with a construction period of about three years, and patients being cared for in the new facilities in 2014.

The full membership of the preferred bid team is as follows:

Paget Health Services:

Sir Robert McAlpine Limited
PFI Investors Limited
BCM McAlpine Limited
AECOM Limited
Swanke Hayden Connell
OBM International Limited
Black & McDonald Limited
IBM (through Bermuda Computer Services)
Ernst & Young LLP
Wakefield Quin
BF&M Insurance Limited
Macfarlane Wilder
Mid-Atlantic Engineering
Brunel Ltd

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