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Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 11 Jul 2001

Vol. 167 No. 15

Adjournment Matters. - Neo-Natal Care.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. There is a need for the Minister for Health and Children to state the policy on the future of neo-natal care in the Rotunda Hospital and Temple Street Hospital, and to indicate the timetable and budgetary provision for the redevelopment of Temple Street Hospital and the construction of a new neo-natal unit in the Rotunda Hospital.

The Rotunda Hospital has been waiting five or six years for a new neo-natal unit. The existing one is in very bad condition. It is overcrowded and damp and the walls are peeling. These are totally unsatisfactory conditions for anybody, never mind expectant mothers and babies. The Rotunda Hospital had hoped the upgrading of this facility would have taken place years ago. The original cost envisaged was £2.5 million but the estimate has nearly trebled in the time in which it has been waiting for approval.

While the Eastern Regional Health Authority has recognised the need for the new unit and has approved of it, and the Minister for Health and Children has approved of it, unfortunately the funding has not been forthcoming. The Rotunda Hospital has made a substantial contribution and has increased that contribution in recent months. While the Department seems to think it is not getting value for money, the Minister of State must recognise that in the context of an inner city location and current tendering costs, the Department will not get any facility cheaply. The tendering in the marketplace is being conducted in the normal cost-effective way.

The Rotunda is the oldest maternity hospital in the world. Unless it is refurbished, it could lose its recognition as a training hospital for paediatrics. It is overcrowded. As well as requiring a new neonatal intensive care unit, bed accommodation needs to be upgraded. These facilities are part of one package. It is urgent that the problems of the Rotunda be addressed. It is recognised as one of the best paediatric training centres in the world.

With regard to Temple Street hospital, there has been an overall plan for its redevelopment and refurbishment on the transferred site of the Mater Hospital. It is still in very poor condition, as are its facilities. There was talk of the transfer of the paediatric service to Crumlin hospital on the south side of the city, which would have been totally unacceptable. The main problem is the foot dragging in terms of proceeding with the development. It seems to have been put on the long finger and there is no progress on the ground in terms of mixing mortar. People have no sense that the new hospital will arise from the inadequate old building, which was a residential type building with many outoffices and structures built over the years to provide for extra services.

It is felt on the north side of the city that neither the Rotunda nor Temple Street hospital is getting the attention it deserves. They are children's hospitals providing maternity care, neonatal care and child care. Will the Minister of State give a positive indication when funding will be forthcoming from her Department?

I am happy to address the issues raised by Senator Costello on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children with regard to the Rotunda and Temple Street hospitals. The Senator will know that the Minister approved a capital development programme for the Rotunda Hospital, which includes the amalgamation of the paediatric unit and the neo-natal intensive care unit into a new centralised department. The amalgamation of services is designed to facilitate improved service delivery to patients. The next stage of the project is being overseen by the Eastern Regional Health Authority. I understand from the authority that the tender reports have been received by the hospital and are currently being considered by the ERHA.

The Minister looks forward to the Rotunda project proceeding as soon as possible and is confident that it will enable the hospital to meet the increasing demand for services. The project will contribute to the enhancement of maternity services on the north side of Dublin. Indicative funding of £111 million has been allocated to the ERHA in 2001 under the national development plan, £67.4 million of which has been earmarked for general hospitals.

Senator Costello also sought clarification regarding the timetable and budgetary provision for the redevelopment of the Children's Hospital, Temple Street. I am glad to have the opportunity to outline a number of recent developments at the hospital. First, the Department approved a capital allocation of £1.6 million in 1998 for a new accident and emergency department, work on which has since been completed. The new building became operational in the first week of April 2001.

In addition, I am informed by the Eastern Regional Health Authority that additional day beds were commissioned in April this year. This development has facilitated an increase in day capacity at the hospital from 14 to 19 places and will allow for medical day care activity in addition to the existing surgical workload. The total cost associated with the construction, staffing and equipment of both departments was £2.7 million. I understand that both departments are now open and functioning well. The authority also advises that the hospital proposes to extend its old day ward to accommodate a new surgical ward. This ward will have some isolation facilities, which will add to the hospitals overall capacity.

The Minister for Health and Children will be visiting the hospital in the coming weeks to see at first hand the improvement in patient facilities resulting from the significant investment in the hospital infrastructure which I have outlined.

Senator Costello will also be aware that, within five to seven years, the hospital will relocate to the Mater Hospital campus. Funding in the region of £180 million at 1999 prices has been identified in the national development plan for the redevelopment of the Mater campus, to include expanded and improved facilities for the existing Mater Hospital and the building of a new children's hospital.

The design brief has been completed and approved by the Department and the Eastern Regional Health Authority. The main clinical areas to be provided in the children's hospital development will include a new neo-natal ward providing a 20 cot in-patient service for babies in the neo-natal period, i.e., the first six weeks after birth. The neo-natal unit will operate as a distinct section within the children's in-patient department. A number of steering groups are in place to plan for the development of facilities on the new site.

It is evident that the investment programme which I have outlined for the Rotunda and Temple Street hospitals represents tangible evidence of the Government's continuing commitment to enhancing the existing hospital infrastructure.

The Seanad adjourned at 9.50 p.m. sine die.

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