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A major hospital investment programme in Northern Ireland, delivered through PPP procurements, which comprises the construction of new and replacement hospitals and the modernisation and rehabilitation of others.
Following a fundamental review of the public health services, the Department is embarking on a major reconfiguration and organisational reform across Northern Ireland. The NI strategy reflects a number of objectives, including the need to maintain accessibility of services whilst improving clinical safety, service quality, effectiveness and efficiency. It involves the reconfiguration of the current 15 acute hospitals with a network of 9 major acute hospitals supported by a range of local hospitals, as well as organisational changes that will reduce the number of Boards and Trusts by April 2007.
During appraisal, the Bank will verify whether projects are covered by Directive 97/11/EC Annex II. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) may be requested by local authorities to support outline planning applications - particularly when a new construction is proposed for a Greenfield site. The findings of these studies will inform the design developed by competitive bidders. Where relevant, EIAs and identified mitigation measures, and the actual/possible significant impacts on protected flora and fauna (Habitats' and Birds' Directives) will be examined during the appraisal of selected PPP projects as they come forward for funding.
As is standard for UK PPPs, the hospital projects are being procured in accordance with relevant EU Directives. Advertisements in the Official Journal of the European Union were placed in June 2006 (Enniskillen and Ulster) and October 2006 (Omagh), as well as scheduled for late 2006 (Women & Children's Hospital).