Motol will resume construction work on the children's pavilion, the building was moving

photo: www.helika.cz

Prague - Motol University Hospital will resume construction work on the renovation of wing B of the children's hospital starting Tuesday, the hospital's management announced to reporters today. The long-standing building shifted by up to ten centimeters in the last two weeks during construction activities. Since Wednesday, when the crisis team suspended the renovation, the movement has stopped. Last week it was discussed whether it would be necessary to evacuate other wings of the children's hospital where patients are located, but the structural engineer decided it was not necessary. The collapse of wing B or the adjacent wings is reportedly not a threat.
    "From tomorrow (Tuesday), construction will continue, monitoring is intensified and will last until the end of the construction," said the management. The work is expected to be completed by the middle of next year, and the management does not anticipate extending the original deadline. A shift of up to ten centimeters was reportedly planned. "The building will be monitored, and the remediation processes will be completed, which should stabilize the condition," summarized the invited experts. The hospital's management does not expect to apply for funding for necessary remediation work, claiming that no "additional costs" have arisen.
    According to experts, the cause of the shift is a change in the hydrogeological conditions of the subsoil, and they have not currently established any connection with the nearby subway construction. They stated that the original hospital was built under complex hydrogeological conditions, on a slope, and on land with groundwater. Both of these factors contributed to a certain instability of the subsoil.
    There are no patients in the reconstructed wing, but its instability could have endangered the other wings that form a cross in the layout. There are over 200 children in them.
    The director of Motol, Miloslav Ludvík, already stated on Wednesday that he does not anticipate evacuating the hospital. He also ruled out that the current issues would increase the hospital's expenses for the renovation beyond the agreed price.
    The children's Motol is one of the largest children's hospitals in Europe, with the main renovated section having opened last June. It is the most extensive construction project in healthcare in the last 15 years. The wing that experienced the shift was built in 1964.