Cork mother has 'never been more worried about the opening' of National Children's Hospital

Amanda O' Rourke: 'We are just concerned about the care of the children.' File Picture: Ciarán O'Rourke

A mother whose 19-year-old son was born when a site was first picked for the new National Children’s Hospital said she has never been more worried about its opening.

Amanda O’ Rourke was stunned to see disagreement again this week between a health minister and BAM, the construction firm building the new hospital. She said parents are “exhausted”.

The Cork woman and her husband Ciarán, who live in Dublin, were new parents coming to terms with a diagnosis of a rare condition for their baby Hugh in 2006. He was later also diagnosed with autism and scoliosis.

The plan then was to place the new hospital near the Mater Hospital. This was later changed to co-location with St James’s Hospital, and construction began in 2017. That had been expected to end next month, but now there is further uncertainty.

“I’ve never been as worried about the opening of the hospital, I’ve never been as concerned,” she said.

There is already an enormous cost being paid by children. What is the plan? Who is planning what happens next?

The hospital is now expected to cost €2.2bn, with much focus put on its innovative design.

“The narrative around this building is really upsetting. They say: ‘This is going to deliver a great hospital.' That is tone-deaf,” she said.

“We are just concerned about the care of the children. It’s the safety of the opening, the capacity to give care for children.” 

Construction on the National Children's Hospital on the ground of St James's Hospital began in 2017 and was expected to end next month. File Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins

She first shared her concerns with the Irish Examiner last September, saying then: “It’s hard for people to listen to the constant spin.” 

Another year gone, and this week’s fresh crisis has only convinced her the new build is taking attention away from much-needed reforms.

The family spent about two years working with doctors to prepare for when Hugh reached the age for adult services.

“From talking to other families, that is not always the case,” she said.

“Some were given no feedback about where they were going, some were discharged over the phone, and some of them were complex kids with spina bifida hydrocephalus.” 

Management decisions

Even with all of their preparation, the family faced confusion when Hugh needed hip surgery aged 16.

They were told, at first, he could remain under CHI at Temple St for spinal care while his hip was taken care of at Cappagh Hospital. The link with Temple St was later suddenly cancelled.

“Some of the management decisions are terrifying,” she said, praising the doctors who ensured he had successful surgery last October.

“He’s doing great, he can walk up to 3km now,” she said.

Last Saturday, she was one of around 1,000 people who walked through Dublin in support of Harvey Morrison Sherratt’s parents.

The little boy died in July after his parents, Gillian and Stephen, spent years fighting for better care for him under CHI.

Harvey Morrison Sherratt's parents, Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison, during a Justice for Harvey March in Dublin city centre last weekend. Picture: Gareth Chaney/PA

“Harvey fought so hard, he should never have been allowed to deteriorate so much,” she said.

I know his parents don’t want his death to have been in vain

After speaking to other parents on the march, she said: “Everyone was saying this is the worst they’ve ever seen it. And then you have this new hospital looming on the horizon and all the interruption to work-flow that will bring with it.” 

She pointed out that, while orthopaedics gets a lot of headlines, there are other areas under pressure too.

“When the first cuts in care started coming through [during the recession] Hugh was just gone one — so that’s over 18 years we’ve been advocating,” she said.

“We’re all just exhausted, especially in the last decade, it feels like care is constantly being taken away.” 

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has raised concerns about construction of the new hospital. She questioned the low number of workers on site and said funds are being under-used.

However, BAM said the hospital is 99% complete and invited the minister to visit the site. It described as normal the tapering off in worker numbers at this stage.