Work on the new Merlin Park Hospital Ambulance Base is expected to begin before the end of this month.
Joe Hoare, HSE West assistant national director of estates, told a recent meeting of the HSE Regional Health Forum that a contractor has already been chosen for the project, and is expected to begin shortly.
But questions about the process have been raised by two unsuccessful contractors, which have had to be reviewed and answered first.
Mr Hoare was speaking at the meeting in response to a question from City Councillor John Connolly, who said that it has been two years since the ambulance base has been granted planning permission.
Councillor Connolly asked for clarity on the timeframe for delivering this project after saying that the short written answer he had received from the HSE was not sufficient.
Mr Hoare said at last week’s meeting that a contract was expected to be awarded for the project in roughly two weeks time, and that work is expected to begin on site by the end of August.
The planned ambulance base for Merlin Park Hospital will include a 129m² garage, two canopied parking bays, and 19 canopied spaces for emergency vehicles.
The two-storey base will also have offices, bathroom, shower, and laundry facilities as well as a kitchen and quiet room for Paramedics.
Tenders for the €1.3 million project were issued at the end of June last year.
The new base is meant to replace the different accommodations the ambulance service have been operating out of for several years now.
The existing base at UHG has been criticised as being unfit for purpose, and prior to that ambulance personnel were also based for a time at prefab accommodation at Merlin Park Hospital.
These were host to a range of problems all of their own, including incidences of rodent infestation in 2017.
