Flushing water through bacteria-contaminated pipes in a still unopened maternity hospital has cost close to £350,000 since the building was handed over to the Department of Health 15 months ago, it is claimed.
High levels of the bacteria pseudomonas, which affects people with weak immune systems, was discovered last year in the water system of the supposedly completed near £100m maternity hospital in Belfast, which may not open for another two years.
Diane Dodds, the DUP’s health spokesperson, said she has received a written answer from the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt revealing the cost of flushing the water over the first six months of this year was approximately £200,000.
Ms Dodds has calculated the total to be around £344,000 over the 15 months, with labour costs of £287,000 and NI Water charges of over £57,000.
“People often use the phrase ‘flushing money down the drain’, but unfortunately this seems to be the reality in the Belfast Trust,” the Upper Bann Assembly member said.
“The costs for the last six months which the Minister has provided - the first half of 2025 - come to £200,000, with the figures from July onwards likely to be significantly higher than for 2024,” Ms Dodds added.
She said that for the 15 months since the trust took control of the building, 15,116 cubic metres of water has been used, costing over £57,000.
“Changes to the flushing protocol had been advised to address a number of ‘dead legs’ in the system. Some contaminated outlets were removed with temporary “flushing tails” installed in their place, and routine cleaning procedures were introduced to ensure significant usage and flushing of all taps and showers in the new building,” Ms Dodds said.
“The Minister previously was unable to confirm if the present flushing regime would be required in perpetuity at the new building.
“There remain significant unanswered questions about how the Belfast Trust ever came to accept handover of a building that is still not in use. The costs associated with the new Maternity Hospital have already doubled from its original cost.”
Ms Dodds added: “Rather than trying to save some money at this late stage by hoping flushing might make pipework contaminated with pseudomonas safer, the wiser course of action may have been to remove all the offending pipework in the building.”
