The Bermuda Hospitals Board is planning on demolishing two disused buildings on the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital property this year.

Both the Queen Elizabeth Nurses Residence on Berry Hill Road and the section of the building that housed the Continuing Care Units (CCU) will be taken down as part of the $2 million demolition project, set to begin this month and to last for four months.

According to a BHB statement, both have been unoccupied and are in poor physical condition. The demolition will not affect the chapel, Heddington Gym, Activities Lounge or Lymphedema Clinic, which will remain in their current locations.

BHB director of facilities management Marshall Minors said: “These buildings are surplus to our current needs and demolishing them will save BHB in maintenance costs.

“The cost of renovating and upgrading either of the buildings to a usable and safe condition would be extremely expensive.

“We want to reassure the public that the demolition plans do not include the hospital’s chapel. This will remain on the site in its current location as a place of solace for the public. A new external wall will be constructed to preserve this older part of the hospital from the demolished CCU wings.”

For the CCU building alone, the BHB says the annual savings are estimated at $1.5 million, representing utilities, facilities maintenance, cleaning, security and insurance.

Island Construction Services Ltd have been awarded the demolition contract after a robust procurement process. They will be supported in the project by Bermuda Air Conditioning and Universal Electric. Prior to the demolition, protective hoarding will be erected to contain any debris. Misting machines will also be put in place to control dust levels.

The statement said that construction on the site of an active hospital has to be carefully planned as vibrations can affect hospital equipment and dust can pose an infection risk. For these reasons the project will be carried out to local and Canadian Standards Association Health and Safety and Infection Control guidelines.

“We are mindful of our neighbours both residents and businesses,” said Mr Minors. “We’ve communicated with them directly and have an open-door policy to address any of their concerns.”

Any necessary road closures are expected to take place on weekends and detailed notice of road closures will be issued to news media at the appropriate times.