Ireland’s new children’s hospital
The children’s hospital group CEO, Eilísh Hardiman explains how Ireland’s new children’s hospital will benefit paediatric services across the country.
We are now one giant step closer to delivering a world-class children’s hospital for Ireland. In April we received approval for planning from An Bord Pleanála for the development of the new children’s hospital on a shared campus with St James’s Hospital in Dublin 8.
This is the most significant capital investment in healthcare in the history of the state. It is nothing less than what is deserved and is the result of tireless work by many staff in the three children’s hospitals, the HSE, Department of Health and by the families who have been working to ensure that this project received the attention and investment that it deserves. The professional and technological skills of the Project Team of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board must be acknowledged in achieving this key milestone.
Bringing the three children’s hospitals, Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, and the National Children’s Hospital at Tallaght Hospital, under the one roof for the first time, is a historic and exciting development for paediatric services in Ireland. The staff of the three children’s hospitals will be working together in a custom-built, modern hospital.
Location
There are many reasons why the campus at St James’s Hospital was selected as the location for the new children’s hospital, but the primary one is that it will best support the delivery of better clinical outcomes for children and young people. It is recognised international best practice from a clinical perspective to locate children’s hospitals on the same campus as an adult teaching hospital and St James’s Hospital is Ireland’s largest and leading adult teaching and research-intensive hospital. It has the greatest number of clinical specialities and national services in the acute adult hospital system, and it also has the widest range of adult sub-specialities that can support paediatric services.
The new children’s hospital, and the two new paediatric urgent care and out-patient satellite units on the Southside and Northside of the city at Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals which have also received planning permission, will provide access to paediatric services locally for children and families for generations to come.
The new children’s hospital is a central component of a new model of care for paediatric services in Ireland. The primary principle of this model of care is that secondary services, such as, general paediatrics and access to urgent/emergency care are available locally, with specialist services consolidated. The new hospital will provide both secondary paediatric services for children living within the M50 and specialist services for all children from all over Ireland.
It is an exciting development for everyone who works in paediatric healthcare provision because it will result in better clinical outcomes, improved survival rates for the sickest children and young people and will significantly enhance the experience of services for children, young people and their families.
The building has been designed by renowned children’s healthcare architect Benedict Zucchi from BDP, alongside Irish partners O’Connell Mahon Architects (OCMA). Together, they hold unrivalled experience in healthcare, child-friendly design and sustainable solutions. During the design stage, there were over 1,000 hours of engagement and consultation with local residents and businesses, as well as with staff from the three children’s hospitals and with families, young people and children who are former or current users of our hospitals.
The hospital will be seven storeys at its highest point, with the majority of the building sitting at four storeys. All 380 rooms, 42 critical care and 18 neonatal care units are single rooms. All inpatient rooms will be ensuite, with room for mum or dad to comfortably stay with their child, including a built in bed. There will also be many outdoor spaces – including a beautiful, enclosed rainbow garden which will be the length of Croke Park – which will help families to maintain some sense of normality while spending time at the hospital. The needs of patients and families have been central to all of our planning and will continue to be.
Better for families
It is international best practice that children should receive the majority of their medical care as close to their home as is medically appropriate. Children who live within the M50 or those who require specialist care, will be treated in the new children’s hospital. Children living in the Greater Dublin Area and outside of the M50 will have access to general paediatrics and urgent care in the new local paediatric urgent care and out-patient satellite units located at Tallaght Hospital and at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown. These units will be operational by 2018, providing urgent care and better local access to general paediatric and trauma orthopaedic services, chronic disease management, diagnostics and to support community and home based services. The urgent care service will have six short stay beds, so children requiring observation and treatment for under eight hours can stay in these beds as opposed to being admitted. This service is better for families and children and avoids unnecessary admissions for conditions to respond to treatment or who need observation.
Sharing a campus with St James’s Hospital opens up endless possibilities in the area of service delivery, research and innovation. As well as the new children’s hospital, a new children’s research and innovation centre has also received planning permission on the campus. Our ability to partner in research with colleagues on the campus at St. James’s will fundamentally enhance the approach to research and will be a major catalyst for driving breakthrough results and outputs.
With the granting of planning permission by An Bord Pleanála – we can now move forward to construction. The builders will be on site commencing enabling works for the hospital this summer. We are on track to start transition of services on a phased basis to the paediatric urgent care and out-patient services at Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals by 2018 and for the new children’s hospital building to be handed over in 2020 to commence service transition. An immense amount of work has begun within the hospitals to ensure that there will be integration of services before we move into the new buildings. Staff of the three hospitals are hugely supportive of this programme – relishing the opportunity to collaborate and develop integrated clinical teams – all of which will have positive outcomes and lasting impacts on children, young people and families in Ireland for generations to come.
