New 'combined entity' paediatric hospital proposal on table

A fresh proposal for the National Paediatric Hospital claims it could complete the facility by the second half of 2016, at an overall cost of €420m.

The joint plan by Connolly Hospital, the Royal College of Surgeons and Beaumont Hospital purports to be the most cost-effective and efficient of many rival proposals, including those by the Mater Hospital, Coombe Hospital and the Phoenix Park Racecourse.

Doctor Trevor Duffy, Clinical Director of Connolly Hospital, said their blueprint was for a 150-acre campus beside the M50 motorway, co-located with Connolly Hospital.

"(The project) has been in development for about four years," he said.

"It's now go to the point of discussing clinical integration programmes…so all of the clinical services from the combined entity would be available to the paediatric hospital."