In June 2010 a New Hospital in the City of Elche, South East Spain, is to be opened to the public.
The type of contract adopted for the development of this new hospital is a concession of comprehensive health care enabling new health resources to be implemented quickly.
This model has already been applied, being the fifth hospital of its kind in the Region of Valencia, with a long-term strategy and approach, and is based on a collaboration between the Public Administration and the private sector.
The first Spanish public hospital managed by an administrative concession was built in 1999, based on four fundamental pillars: public ownership, public control, public financing and private management.
The Regional Government of Valencia was the first in Spain to develop a Law to start up a Hospital managed by an administrative concession model, and it was the first to apply in Europe the comprehensive management of the public health service. Its predecessors are the British Labour Government and Swedish Social Democratic Government, although the Regional Government of Valencia's project has gone one step further, on including for the first time the capitated payment system in the public health system.
The public service management is a concession, awarded following a public tender by the integral health service to be built and run for 15 years as of the commissioning of the new hospital, and renewable for another 5 years.
IDOM, one of the largest Spanish Consulting Engineering firms, undertook the Project Management of the new Hospital project, construction and commissioning, carrying out a project review previous to assisting the client during the construction tendering process, and running the construction management for the Hospital, to ensure that the schedule, budget and quality objectives were met.
A total of 65,5 Ml euros has been invested in to building and fitting out the 45,000 sqm hospital on a 60,000 sqm plot. The four storey building has 196 individual hospital rooms, 12 operating theatres, a radiology unit with nuclear medicine, amongst other medical facilities. The works were completed to budget in 25 months. The build took advantage of several precast features, such as the precast concrete façade and precast bathroom units, totally fitted out before delivery, which favoured rapid erection.
Alexandra Harris, Project Manager for the construction of the hospital, graduated from Nottingham University with a MEng in Civil Engineering with Spanish. After initiating her career in Ove Arup & Partners, she moved to Spain in 2000 and joined IDOM Consultants where she has been working since, having spent the last 5 years in Project Management.