New National Children's Hospital will not be complete until 2024 at the earliest

A drone image of building works on the National Children's Hospital.

Construction of the National Children’s Hospital is set to finish by the end of 2023, but a further nine months for fit-out means patients will not be treated their until 2024 at the earliest.

The estimated cost is now at least €1.7bn, but the Government has said it still does not have a definitive figure.

During a tour of the giant complex, National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) project director Phelim Devine said: “Our target is to be complete by 2023, substantially complete.” 

More than 600 windows have already been installed, and the concrete frame was completed in March using 150,000m³ of concrete. Work on internal rooms starts next month.

The fitting out of 380 single rooms, 42 critical-care beds, a 93-bed day unit, and 18 operating theatres could take nine months during 2024, he said.

This will include creating electronic health records, the first in Ireland for children’s care.

We don’t know when the first patients can come in, but all of the stakeholders are working hard to get it done as soon as possible,” he said.

The build was shut for roughly four months last year, but project director with BAM Ireland, Howard McDonagh, said that the momentum was getting going, with a lot done since January. 

NPHDB medical director and paediatrician at Tallaght University Hospital, Dr Emma Curtis, said she is excited about the benefits for children.

“I’m thrilled," she said. "It’s really encouraging to see the progress being made. 

“I’m sure people were getting despondent. There were people thinking their child would attend, but won’t now because they have grown up. 

It’s a huge project, and it takes time. We are soon going to be here working.” 

Dr Curtis or other team members visited hospitals internationally for inspiration, and she described the new facility as “world-class”.

About 2,500 staff from Tallaght, Temple St, and Crumlin hospitals will work at the new hospital and at two satellite clinics in Blanchardstown and Tallaght.

This means instant access for families to 39 medical specialities including second opinions, she said.

Children will particularly benefit from four acres of gardens, with a separate space for immuno-compromised children.

Large 2m windows will either face a garden or the hills of Dublin.

A separate accommodation area also offers 53 beds for families, while sofa beds are also available in patient rooms.

“There is quite a bit of research on green space and gardens and the benefits they have for children’s health,” Dr Curtis said. 

There will be a lot of diversions. Some of these children could be in hospital for months.” 

Inside a 250m corridor connects the operating theatres, including a hybrid-theatre for neurosurgery linked to an MRI suite.

The underground car park is reserved almost exclusively for families, with more at the emergency department entrance. A staff member will park cars for parents at the ED.

A helicopter pad is also nearing completion. 

A series of arson attacks at the site are being investigated by gardaí.