Building work on children’s hospital to start by year end
Chief executive of the hospital’s development board, Eilish Hardiman, said building work on the site beside the Mater Hospital in Dublin would cost “significantly less” than the original estimate of €750m.
Three Dublin hospitals will transfer patients to the 16-storey facility – Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, Temple Street and the National Children’s Hospital in Tallaght.
Ms Hardiman told a European conference hosted by Children in Hospital Ireland in Dublin that the hospital would have 392 patient beds in en-suite rooms with facilities for parents.
She said the state had committed €400m for the project and it was hoped a further €100m would come from donations.
Ms Hardiman said planning applications would be submitted in two packages over the next two months. Enabling work would begin at the end of the year before construction started early in 2011.
Health Minister Mary Harney said the views of children would be taken into account at every stage of the design and operation.
She said more important than the building was having the expertise working together with the sick child at the centre, something that could not be achieved overnight.
HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm said bringing three hospitals together was not unique to Ireland.
He said there were many examples in Australia, America and Britain where merging a number of hospitals had been the subject of vigorous debate.
“This should not be viewed as a negative reaction but a reflection of the deep loyalty people have to their hospitals which have served their communities so well.” he said. “Change of this magnitude is always complex, but we have come through the painful stage.
“We now have a golden opportunity to create what can be ... one of the world’s greatest children’s hospitals.”
A small protest was staged outside Dublin Castle where the conference was held.
Conor Higgins, who complained that the site was too small, did not believe the project was a fait accompli: “The decision to build the hospital was given four years ago but it is not too late to object to it. We can’t let it go ahead and have sick children use facilities that are just not going to work.”
