NDP asks government to audit Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford for 'failures'

The Saskatchewan NDP wants the province to launch a facility audit of the newly opened Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford following news that the entire roof needed to be replaced just months after opening.

Last week, the government announced that modular roofing panels had shrunk due to spring melt. The shrinkage created gaps in the roof.

The developer in charge of the build, Graham Capital Partners, decided the roof needed a full replacement.

"The concern I have is what's the impact on that on the taxpayers. We're paying on average about $4 million a year just for operations and maintenance on this hospital alone," said NDP MLA Cathy Sproule.

On Thursday, Sproule sent a letter to the Minister Responsible for SaskBuilds Gord Wyant.

"I am calling on you to conduct a full facility audit of the Saskatchewan Hospital to determine if any other failures have occurred and identify areas of risk," Sproule wrote.

Sproule said she is concerned about what the roof failure means for the "viability of the construction of this P3 [public-private partnership] build and the potential for further failures over the lifespan of this facility."

Sproule said taxpayers are responsible for an average of $4.2 million in costs for maintenance and operations of the facility over the next 33 years. In addition, the most recent government records show an interest payment of $9.2 million.

The Saskatchewan government entered into four high profile P3 projects. The first was in 2014 with the Swift Current Long-Term Care Facility. In 2015 it entered into three others: Saskatchewan Hospital, 18 joint-use elementary schools and the Regina Bypass. Each contract lasts in excess of 30 years.

The province will pay the facility manager SNC-Lavalin for maintaining and operating the hospital. Sproule said that in 2017, the former Prairie North Health Region spent $4.8 million on repairs and maintenance for all 33 of its health facilities.

"I think the concern there is that we're spending an awful lot to SNC-Lavalin to look after this building and look what's happening already."

Government rejects call for audit

Wyant said the government does not need to conduct a review.

"A facility audit is not needed as the current contract already requires ongoing evaluation of the facility," Wyant said in an emailed statement to CBC.

Wyant said the work done by Access Prairie Partnership (APP) "to evaluate the structure and determine repairs proves that the agreement that is in place works."

Graham Capital Partners is the owner of the APP which is comprised of six partners. 

"The NDP claim that taxpayers will be on the hook for paying millions of dollars more in yearly maintenance costs. That is simply not true. One advantage of using the P3 model means that maintenance costs for government are fixed - any repair and associated expense is the responsibility of Access Prairie Partnership," Wyant said.

Last week, the Ministry of Central Services said "maintenance and rehabilitation costs for Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford will vary from year to year. Over the life of the contract, the total cost is estimated at $72.3 million."

Wyant called the NDP "rich" for citing the maintenance budget for the facility and comparing the cost to that of the former Prairie North Health Region.

"The NDP's 2005-06 Budget provided zero dollars for maintenance to that same region."

History of hospital construction

The Saskatchewan Hospital is a P3 project and was the most expensive mental health services project in the history of the province.

Under the P3 model, the province spent $407 million on the hospital. That included the cost of design, construction, finance and more than 30 years of maintenance to ensure it remains in like-new condition. Graham Capital Partners values its contract with the government at $245.7 million.

Construction started on the new hospital in September 2015, with a scheduled completion of spring 2018.

In October 2017, crews were forced to tear down exterior bricks and cladding to remove and replace faulty insulation in the walls.

At the time, a spokesperson for SaskBuilds said the contractor had found "shrinkage" issues. The problem with the insulation was discovered after cladding, masonry and brickwork had been done.

In March 2018, the government said APP expected a two-to three-month delay due to a subcontractor not being able to deliver according to the schedule. It announced it was penalizing APP $1.25 million per month for failing to meet its completion target of June 1, 2018. According to the government, APP forfeited $3.9M in service payments, plus $484,000 ($5,000 per day) for the government's delay-related expenses.