Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 May 2017
468. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health if it is his policy to relocate the national maternity hospital to St Vincent's Hospital and the Rotunda Hospital to James Connolly Memorial Hospital; his plans to provide a maternity hospital on the northside of Dublin in due course in view of the population growth in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24245/17]
View answerThe model of stand-alone maternity hospitals is not the norm internationally. Government policy is therefore to co-locate all remaining maternity hospitals with adult acute services in order to provide optimal clinical outcomes. Co-location of maternity services with adult services provides mothers with access to a full range of medical and support services should the need arise. Tri-location with paediatric services ensures immediate access on-site to paediatric services when foetal or neonatal surgery is required. The availability of these services helps ensure the delivery of an optimum, safe service, particularly for high risk mothers and babies.
Following the Government’s decision to locate the new children’s hospital at the St James’s Hospital campus, it was necessary to review the recommendations made in 2008 KPMG Report ‘Independent Review of Maternity and Gynaecology Services in the Greater Dublin Area’ in relation to the preferred sites for maternity hospitals in Dublin, in order to deliver a tri-located adult acute, paediatric and maternity service at the St James’s campus.
Following that review it was decided that the Rotunda Hospital will be co-located with adult acute services at Connolly Hospital campus, Blanchardstown on the north side of the city, while the Coombe will be tri-located at St James’s campus with adult acute services and the new children’s hospital. The project to relocate the National Maternity Hospital to the St Vincent's University Hospital Campus had already commenced; on 10 March last, a planning application for the new National Maternity Hospital was submitted to An Bord Pleanála. An outline of the review is available at:
http://health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Re-location-of-the-Coombe-and-Rotunda-Hospitals1.pdf.
