Decision details

The Council is responding to the Covid-19 major incident and therefore needs to make urgent decisions to ensure that residents are protected. Urgent decisions taken at the above named meeting are listed below with reasons.

It was AGREED that:

1.           The former military hospital on the Headley Court site would be reinstated to provide additional capacity for Covid-19 cases.

2.           Urgent works were required to complete reinstatement to NHS’s specification. A contractor has been identified with the requisite experience and local track record to undertake the same, and Procurement has been engaged to achieve the requisite approvals for their appointment, in line with Cabinet Office note PPN 01/20 ‘Responding to Covid-19’.

3.           The value of the works required has been estimated at £750k on the present outline spec, but an initial contingency of £150k has been identified to meet any additional costs that cannot be foreseen at this time, given the pace at which works need to progress. Flexibility will be required to meet any additional expenditure above and beyond that level, should NHS require it to ensure the safe and effective operation of the site as a Covid-19 facility.

4.          Discussions are ongoing with the NHS and it is likely that the cost of these works will be able to be recovered from them. In the interim these costs will be charged to property capital budgets and the COVID funding received by the Council from Central Government will be provisionally allocated to finance these costs.

Reasons for Decision:

1.           To ensure that additional hospital capacity is available as soon as possible to meet the challenge of caring for Covid-19 patients that cannot be accommodated in operational hospitals

2.           To facilitate the finalisation of a JCT Prime Cost Building Contract for the value of the works set out above, with Corrigenda.

3.         To ensure that works can, therefore, be executed to provide the facilities needed before the expected surge in cases in mid-April