The new national children’s hospital will be big enough to meet demand until at least 2040, according to those building it.
The facility, the construction of which is 80 per cent complete, has been designed to cater for projected growth in the number of young people up to that date, Phelim Devine, project director of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) said.
The design includes a “built-in expansion spec” in areas such as critical care, operating theatres and scanning equipment, he said. In addition, there is space on the site at St James’s Hospital to expand by 15-20 per cent if this is required.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin, who was given a tour of the site on the St James’s Hospital campus on Thursday, predicted the hospital will lead a transformation of the delivery of paediatric care in Ireland.
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“The new children’s hospital building is at the heart of this transformation – bringing the acute paediatric hospital services and specialities in Children’s Health Ireland under one roof for the first time, leading to improved clinical outcomes and a better experience for children, young people and their families.”
Mr Martin, in an oblique nod to the controversies surrounding the hospital, acknowledged there has been “a very difficult journey” to get to this stage. The project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, and is now expected to cost over €2 billion. Construction started in 2016.
“In the fullness of time when one looks back on that and with the benefits of hindsight, lots of perspective will come into the story around the construction of this hospital,” Mr Martin told reporters after planting a tree on the grounds of the hospital.
Lessons have to be learned from the experience about the management of big projects, Mr Martin said, but he expressed confidence that hospital when it opens will provide the “very best of healthcare”.
“What’s important is that we get completion. Just keep the head down and move on and complete this facility because this will be a wonderful story for many, many years to come.”
Mr Devine said the project was expected to be “substantially complete” with most equipment installed by March 2024, at which point the NPHDB, which is responsible for overseeing construction of the hospital, will pass it over to Children’s Hospital Ireland.
The Taoiseach, along with Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, visited some of the “most progressed” areas in the building, including one of the hospital’s 22 operating theatres, the 60-bed critical care unit and an ensuite inpatient room.
They also viewed the rooftop helipad that will transfer sick children in and out of the facility, as well as adults attending St James’s.
The NPHDB says construction has advanced significantly at the hospital in the last 12 months. The façade of the building is complete and internally the most advanced areas have completed floors, walls and ceilings with joinery such as nurses’ stations already fitted.
In the 380 single, ensuite inpatient rooms, and the 93-day beds, bathroom fittings and final finishes are being installed.
Medical equipment such as MRIs and CTs have been procured but have not yet been installed.
Commissioning of the building is expected to take at least six months. The hospital is expected to open its doors at the end of 2024 or, more likely, in early 2025.
