Szent Imre Hospital to be Renewed with the Help of EU Funding 2 April 2009
The assistance contract for Phase II of the reconstruction of the hospital was signed on 1 April.
Szent Imre Hospital is one of the leading regional hospitals in Budapest. This hospital provides services for the entire area of South Buda, as well as the surrounding settlements. Through its reconstruction, one of the most modern regional healthcare institutions will be created in Budapest by 2010, which will also be capable of providing competitive, high standard services for the residents of the agglomeration.
The Municipal Assembly decided to apply for EU funding to finance Phase II of the reconstruction of Szent Imre Hospital in September last year and earmarked own funds amounting to nearly 3.5 billion HUF in EU funding for this purpose. Prior to this, the Municipality of Budapest already launched the reconstruction of the institution by investing own funds. The detailed application for the allocation of EU funds aimed at implementing a larger-scale development to the one envisaged earlier was compiled in 2008. The assessment board approved nearly 3.3 billion HUF for reconstruction at the end of 2008; consequently, the total cost of the development now reaches 6.7 billion HUF.
The Municipality of Budapest will modernise out-patient services in the second phase of the reconstruction of Szent Imre Hospital; moreover, the Emergency Care Unit will be renewed and modern facilities will be established at the Internal Medicine Matrix Centre as well. A brand new Cardiometabolic and Vascular Centre will also be built at the Szent Imre Hospital within the framework of the project. An area of more than 14,200 square metres of the healthcare centre will be renewed and the hospital will be extended by nearly 9,200 square metres thanks to the new wings.
Construction work began on the day the building contract was concluded, i.e. on 1 November. All groundwork has now been completed; a parking area has been created and external public utility construction work has also drawn to a close. The new transformer has been installed and operates, and the new reception building has also been completed. Administration rooms, an angiography laboratory and a neuro intensive care unit have been added to upgrade the Emergency Care Unit and construction work carried out at the new Cardiometabolic and Vascular Unit has also been completed.
The full reconstruction of the Out-patient Unit and the Internal Medicine Matrix Centre will be undertaken and a building surveillance system will be installed in Building 4 in the period remaining up to the end of the project. A patient transport tunnel will be built, parks will be created in the concerned area and all necessary medical technological equipment will be purchased prior to the handing over of the buildings.
It is expected that the renewed or entirely new buildings will be handed over at the end of 2010 according to anticipations. Services are continually provided throughout the entire duration of the construction work.
Phase 1 of the reconstruction of Szent Imre Hospital - 1994-2002
While Phase II of the reconstruction will be implemented from resources allocated by the Municipality of Budapest and EU funding, the first phase completed in 2002 was implemented through own funds made available by the Municipality of Budapest and targeted state funding.
Plans for the comprehensive and much needed reconstruction were first laid on the table in 1994, within the framework of which the partial development plan of the Tétényi Road plot and the first documentation of the extension and reconstruction of the main building, i.e. Building "A" was outlined, on which grounds the Municipality of Budapest was allocated targeted funding amounting to 4 billion HUF in 1998. The Municipality of Budapest complemented this state funding by allocating own funds equivalent to 3.5 billion HUF, which enabled the launch of the extension and reconstruction work and the procurement of the most necessary equipment. The building itself, as well as the standard of services and technology has now been upgraded to a European standard as an outcome of this investment. The quality of services improved and the building is now less crowded thanks to the new 7-floor building built as an extension to the building complex. 2 and 4-bed rooms now have a balcony and adjacent bathroom and a telephone, television connection and nurse call systems have also been installed in these rooms.
A new state-of-the-art surgery block was developed and image diagnostics equipment was purchased and installed in a suitable place through the reconstruction of the old Building "A". A central intensive care unit was also created as a part of the project. The first phase of the extension and reconstruction work completed in 2002 was carried out on an area of nearly 20,000 square metres. The Szent Imre Hospital was extended by over 8000 square metres as an outcome of this investment.