The Tribune

SENIOR executives of RBC Royal Bank were hosted to an exclusive tour of the $53 million Critical Care Block construction project at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

RBC is funding the multi-million dollar project, which has a July 2013 deadline and remains on schedule and on budget.

With more than 75 per cent of the work completed, the building now has electricity and is expected to have more than $20 million in new medical equipment installed over the next four months.

Following the tour both Bruce Sim, head of capital markets and wealth management and Brian Knowles, vice president of corporate banking, noted that the project complex and impressive.

“The complexity of the project is quite something – co-ordinating the technology and the inter-disciplinary teams, while simultaneously upgrading the existing ambulatory wing and keeping everything open and running at the same time is quite a balancing act. The scale of the project is impressive as well – and truly only appreciated by an on site visit,” said Mr Sim.

The tour, coordinated by the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA), was led by Michael Diggiss, lead consultant for the project and John Michael Clarke, the project’s quantity surveyor.

Also on hand for the tour were PHA executives including Frank Smith, PHA chairman, and Herbert Brown, managing director, as well as Cavalier Construction Limited executives Dirk Wilson and Doug Thompson and members of the collaborative design and construction teams.

The construction marks the single largest investment in the 60 year history of the Princess Margaret Hospital, something PHA chairman Mr Smith said comes with exceptional management of resources.

“This project clearly represents the rewards of good management and the ability of Bahamian enterprise. We are engaged with all Bahamian companies and we are getting it done, on time and on budget,” he said.

Pointing out that since the CCB broke ground in November 2011 it has tripled in size, Public Hospitals Authority managing director Herbert Brown said: “Discipline and paying attention to detail has been the hallmark of this project thus far. We are very proud of the fact that it is also being done in tandem with 100 per cent Bahamian-owned businesses. This project speaks very clearly to what Bahamians can do.”

The project will impact around 18 major areas of the hospital, bringing state-of-the-art tools to the new facilities.

Once completed, the 75,000 square foot building with house six top class surgical suites, 18 recovery beds, 20 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) rooms, 48 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds, new laboratory facilities, new MSSD and CSSD as well as a new chapel, healing garden and upgraded supporting spaces for the building.

Lead consultant for the project Michael Diggiss of Michael Diggiss and Associates spoke about his company’s involvement on the tour.

“Our goal was to ensure that the investors got a detailed account of our progress and to ensure that they were pleased with the product thus far,” he said.

“We felt really good about the tour because the client was happy.

“We felt really good about the tour because the investors and client was happy. This is a very reputable, very positive direction for not only RBC, but also the country.”

Expressing Royal Bank’s gratification at partnering in the project, Mr Sim added: “Banking is not a money business, it’s a people business. . . and when you see capital get to the right people, like it has here, it is truly exciting. We look forward to coming back to see the finished product.”