Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 February 2017
40. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Health his views on the consistent objections being raised to the location of the new national children’s hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4691/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy question relates to the choice of location for the national children's hospital at the St. James's Hospital site. This decision provoked controversy and a number of groups have made presentations to the relevant committee and contacted Members. Public confidence in the choice of site is not being helped by the lack of a detailed response to concerns expressed about the location. It would be helpful if these concerns were robustly addressed. Perhaps the Minister will be in a position to do so today.
I thank Deputy Lawless for his question on this very important project and I accept the legitimate and strong feelings a number of people, including parents, have expressed about it.
The project to develop the new children’s hospital is an extraordinary opportunity to enhance paediatric services for children. The granting of planning permission in April 2016 for the hospital, satellite centres and related buildings was a significant and very welcome milestone for the project. Independent reviews since 2006 have reaffirmed the importance of co-location of the paediatric hospital with a major adult academic teaching hospital. The Government decision in 2012 to locate the hospital on the St. James’s Hospital campus was made in the best interests of children from a clinical perspective. St. James's Hospital has the broadest range of national specialties of all our acute hospitals and it is appropriate that the new paediatric hospital will be co-located on this site. In addition, the hospital has a strong and well-established research and education infrastructure, which makes it the hospital that best meets the criteria to enable the children’s hospital to achieve our vision of excellence in modern paediatric practice.
Objectors to the location raise concerns primarily about access to the site. I reassure parents that the plans and design for the hospital recognise the need of most families to access the hospital by car, while noting that the campus is better served by public transport than any other hospital in the country.
While I am aware that not everyone agrees with the decision on the location of the hospital, further debate will not create consensus. My priority, as I have stated previously, is to make progress on the new hospital as soon as possible in order that we can ensure children, young people and their families have the facilities they need and deserve. An entire generation of children who were expected to benefit from a brand new national children's hospital have grown up without doing so.
Two paediatric outpatient and urgent care satellite centres will be provided at Tallaght and Connolly hospitals, respectively. Each of these centres will be projected to deal with 25,000 urgent care and 15,000 outpatient attendances each year. Each centre will provide consultant led urgent care by staff at the new children's hospital, with observation beds, appropriate diagnostics and secondary outpatient services, including rapid access general paediatric clinics.
While I appreciate the points the Minister made, I am not sure if they address the concerns raised by a number of groups, including the Connolly for Kids campaign. My party leader has also written to the Minister on this matter. I ask the Minister to respond specifically to a number of concerns about the St. James's Hospital site. With regard to parking and congestion at the site, it is anticipated that there will be 10,000 arrivals and departures at the new hospital using the already congested and narrow roads surrounding the site. It is predicted that this will produce traffic chaos. Evidence from Mr. John Smith, a retired paramedic and ambulance driver who was based at St. James's Hospital for 30 years, suggests the difficulty in accessing the site will lead to avoidable deaths of children. Concerns have also been raised about staff parking, with spaces due to be provided for only eight of every 100 members of staff in a shift. The modal shift from private to public transport required for the hospital to function, as outlined, has never been achieved in any organisation in the world and is, therefore, a bridge too far.
On the question of cost, in 2012, the former Minister for Health and Children, the then Deputy James Reilly, informed the Dáil that the cost of the new paediatric hospital would be €560 million. Five years later, the cost is projected to be closer to €1 billion or almost double the original estimate. This figure does not include information technology and fit-out costs.
The co-location of a maternity hospital has also been cited as a key argument in support of the decision. When is it envisaged that a maternity hospital will be completed on the St. James's campus? Where does it sit in the picture? We need answers to those specific questions.
I note the Deputy's reference to a letter from his party leader. I understand the Fianna Fáil Party is supportive of the location selected and, like me and many others, wants us to get on with building it. I will try to answer the questions the Deputy raised. On the issue of parking, the design of the hospital has recognised the need of most parents to access the hospital by car. For this reason, 675 parking spaces have been provided for families based on current and projected future demand, and 325 parking spaces have been provided for staff. In total, 1,000 parking spaces will be provided, which is three times the number of spaces available for the three existing paediatric hospitals. The parking system will also allow families to reserve spaces ahead of arriving to the hospital and emergency drop-off spaces will also be provided.
The site chosen will not be changed because I want to move ahead and have the hospital built. With regard to the Connolly Hospital site, there is no guarantee that a planning application for the site would be successful. A report by An Bord Pleanála stated that arguments in favour of siting the hospital on a greenfield site on the M50 were flawed because they assumed unfettered access from a national primary route and on-site car parking. The report stated that transport policies did not support such a strategy and there was no guarantee in respect of congestion on the M50.
While we must move ahead and build the new national paediatric hospital, it is important to have ongoing engagement with parents on the issues the Deputy raises. We must ensure that those who are responsible for delivering the hospital convince parents of its benefits because we need the hospital. I recently visited Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. This is a fine, world class hospital with which we have great links, but it is certainly not located on a greenfield site.
I offer my apologies to Deputy Louise O'Reilly. It has been brought to my attention that she has been nominated to take a number of questions. We will revert to Question No. 35 in the name of Deputy Denise Mitchell.
I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Perhaps we can work on improving communications between the Office of the Ceann Comhairle and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle because I went to the trouble of ensuring I could take these questions.
I take responsibility.
