Paediatrician criticised over claims about national children’s hospital

The professor of paediatrics and child health at UCC has criticised another leading paediatrician, accusing him of making “misleading statements” when arguing against the choice of the St James’s Hospital site for the location of the new national children’s hospital.

Writing in today’s Irish Examiner, Jonathan Hourihane describes the views of retired consultant paediatric oncologist, Fin Breatnach, who favours a site off the M50, next to Connolly Memorial Hospital, as “egregiously incorrect”.

Dr Breatnach, who wrote in this paper on December 5, said the St James’s site was chosen “without a single report ever recommending it and without the involvement of either parents or staff”.

However, Prof Hourihane said this was incorrect, that the Dolphin Group, of which he was a member, visited every site. The only reason it did not recommend St James’s “was because it could not, by its terms of reference, make a recommendation to cabinet”.

The group heard from children themselves as well as parents’ groups, “including the Jack&Jill Foundation (loud critics since)”, said Prof Hourihane.

“The children told us they didn’t care if they couldn’t see ‘trees and deer’ while in hospital — they wanted the best hospital Ireland could build, wherever. Children fighting for their lives in ICU and their parents don’t care about views either,” he said.

Prof Hourihane also challenged Dr Breatnach’s claim that the Government was lying when it said there would be ample parking at the new hospital.

Dr Breatnach said the parking provided “will be relatively less than what was available at Crumlin alone in 2010 and no one would suggest that that was ample”.

However, Prof Hourihane said Crumlin has very little bespoke parking.

“Its neighbourhood is choked by parked cars and Temple Street has no dedicated car parking either. I’m not aware of any other inner city (or suburban or rural) tertiary children’s hospital that has more than 1,000 reserved parking spaces [earmarked for the new hospital] and a tram running actually alongside the site, that connects the hospital with the two biggest national network train stations in the city,” Prof Hourihane said.

He said the opinions of paediatricians who are retired must be respected but only if they are based on correct analysis of evidence and if they will forward the cause of children’s health.

He said Dr Breatnach should “leave the field to the current players, who are getting done what was never even imaginable under the on-field and off-field leadership of former staff”.

“The delivery of this hospital has been long delayed and the project surely is not ‘child’s play’. We agree on that, at least,” he said.