Madam, - Amid all the histrionics over the new children's hospital two aspects seem to have been forgotten.
Firstly, the offer from a citizen (Noel Smyth) to put down €450 million towards such a hospital has been received most ungraciously by the Minister for Health, her Department and the HSE. It is as if they have their own agenda and are slow to welcome any intrusion into the decision-making process.
Secondly, the idea that a new maternity hospital should be built beside the new paediatric hospital has not been adequately examined. It is surely a very good idea, probably an improvement on having a general hospital accommodating the new children's hospital, but obviously requiring additional space for car parking, etc. Surely the proposed location at the Mater cannot accommodate both a new paediatric and a new maternity hospital.
It has always seemed likely that the new maternity hospital was intended to replace the Coombe Hospital, which is notoriously in need of rebuilding. To put such a building on the Mater site would not be sensible as it would be close to the Rotunda Hospital and would leave west Dublin without a maternity hospital.
It therefore seems to me that the debate should be about where to position the new paediatric and maternity hospitals, with St James's, Tallaght and a green-field site as the only options. - Yours, etc,
DERMOT HOURIHANE, Professor of Histopathology, Trinity College Dublin, Consultant Histopathologist, St James's Hospital (Retired), Booterstown, Co Dublin
Madam, - I refer to Frank McDonald's article your edition of January 17th) regarding the site for the new children's hospital. There are a number of comments which require clarification:
1. The main playground at Crumlin Children's Hospital was closed for the recent building of a new five-storey medical tower and is currently replaced with five playgrounds for individual wards and departments where children have greater supervision.
2.There are currently 614 car parking spaces for Crumlin hospital alone and free road parking right around the hospital. It was proposed to Crumlin that the new amalgamated national children's hospital would have access to 400 car parking spaces on the Mater site. There are already more spaces on the site at Crumlin hospital than are being offered to the three amalgamated hospitals. The new Chicago hospital will have 2,500 car parking spaces for 250 beds.
3. The correct figure for the current space in the existing children's hospitals is 59,000 square metres, not 53,000 as stated in the article. In addition one hospital has shared space with adult services.
Two of these hospitals are over 50 years old and do not have adequate space or infrastructure. The current Crumlin site occupies 14.8 acres and it now appears that there are 6 acres available to include space for the new national children's hospital and a maternity hospital.
4. Parents need a range of accommodation options, the majority of which must be on site due to the need for parents to be with their children virtually at all times during their stay in hospital.
5. There is a suggestion that there should be shared services such as laboratories, kitchens and sterilisation areas. There is no clarity or agreement on what services should or should not be shared in the interests of children.
6. The situation regarding a maternity hospital needs to be clarified as, from our perspective, co-location with a maternity hospital is more important than adult hospital co-location. - Yours, etc,
BRENDA RYAN, General Manager, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin 12.