It is with great pleasure that we invite you to today's ceremony for the signing of the contract for the construction of the first phase of the Mental Health Hospital in Nicosia. The Contract has been awarded by the Department of Public Works as Contracting Authority to Cyfield Construction Limited.
The Project will be implemented by the "Design, Build and Maintain" method and the value of the Contract is in excess of €12 million including VAT. The design and construction works will be completed within 24 months and the Contractor Contractor will have additional responsibility for the 12-year maintenance of the Project. The amount will be covered by the Recovery Fund for the 2021-2025 programming period, which was announced by the President of the Republic. This amount falls under the "Public Health" pillar for a resilient and efficient Health System and specifically the Ministry of Health's action to improve, modernize and upgrade state hospitals.
The coordination for the implementation of the project will be undertaken by the Department of Public Works and will be monitored by a team of Officers from the Department of Public Works, the Department of Electromechanical Services and the Audit Division of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works.
For the design and supervision of the Project, the Contractor has included in its Team Konstantinos Maratheytis, Architect, Andros Achilleos, Civil Engineer, Christakis Sotiriou, Mechanical Engineer, and Sotiris Kyrizis, Electrical Engineer.
For the construction of the Project, the Contractor's Team also includes A.S. Air Control Ltd, which will undertake the mechanical installations and YTM Stavrides Ltd, which will undertake the electrical installations.
The Project, whose facilities will have a total area of 4500 m², includes, among others:
- 50-bed Acute Care Wards, with an ECT clinic and nursing and medical staff areas,
- 18-bed Addiction Treatment Unit with nursing and medical staff areas, a gym, an employee training room and multi-purpose occupational therapy areas,
- Exterior work and landscaping,
- Electrical, electronic and mechanical installations, involving both the main buildings and exterior areas, and
- Demolition of existing wards/biological station and associated site remediation.
In addition, all provisions were taken into account in the development of the project to ensure that the infrastructure of the project is of a high standard, ensuring that the building will be energy class A with low operating costs and high quality living conditions for inpatients and staff.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This year's occupancy rate at the Athalassa Hospital, due to the difficult conditions caused by the pandemic, exceeded 100%, while there is an increasing trend of admissions of mentally ill patients, as well as admissions of chronic substance abusers.
Today's signing of the Council comes to implement yet another announcement by the President of the Republic, confirming that the Government's aim is to ensure that all the necessary infrastructure is available for the rehabilitation and reintegration of the mentally ill, with full respect for their dignity and rights, on the basis of the recommendations of modern psychiatric hospitalization.
In the context of the General Health System, the upgrading of the infrastructure of the Mental Health Hospital shows the Government's willingness to take action to improve the medical services offered to our fellow human beings suffering from mental illness. At the same time, it ensures that the staff of the Hospital work in an environment and conditions that allow them to provide their patients with the high quality health services they need.
Finally, I would like to thank the Officers of all the Departments of the Ministry of Transport, who in close cooperation with the relevant Services of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Health, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Health, have brought the Project to where it is today. Both I and the Minister of Health will be closely monitoring the progress of the Project to ensure that the timelines and specifications that have been set are met.
Thank you.
(MKY)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
