Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2023
368. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the current position in the construction of the new children's hospital; when completion is expected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26993/23]
View answerThe New Children’s Hospital (NCH) project comprises the main hospital on a shared campus at St James’s, and two Outpatient and Urgent Care Centres at Connolly and Tallaght hospitals. Both satellite centres are now open and successfully delivering a new model of ambulatory and urgent care for children and adolescents in the Greater Dublin Area.
Works are progressing well on the main site, with the construction and equipping phase now over 85% complete against contract value. The major focus in 2023 continues to be the internal fit-out and commissioning of mechanical and electrical services. The first of the 4,600 clinical rooms have been completed and the remaining rooms will follow in a planned sequence. The 380 individual inpatient rooms are taking shape with fit out of fixtures, ensuites, sliding doors and medical equipment progressing. The hospital will have 93-day beds, with plumbing and joinery now taking place in these areas. The large glass biome, that envelopes the panoramic lifts providing intuitive access to all areas of the building, is complete, as well as the rooflights and ward end glazing to the Level 4 Rainbow Garden. Landscaping and tree planting is underway in the outdoor areas. The elevated helipad space is progressing into the final stages of assembly, with helipad structure completed.
Government has been previously advised that the project and programme will take longer and therefore cost more. The last construction programme received from the main contractor, BAM, suggests substantial completion on the build could be achieved by March 2024. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) continues to engage with the contractor to secure an updated and compliant programme, as required under the construction contract, to get certainty on this substantial completion date and to focus on ensuring that everything possible is being done to complete the construction project as soon as possible. Following substantial completion the hospital will be handed over to Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) for a period of operational commissioning. Planning for the complex process of commissioning over 6,150 spaces to be ready to accommodate services for patients, post substantial completion, is well advanced.
There remain risks beyond the control of the NPHDB and the contractor to the timeline, arising from Brexit, the global pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine and its impact on supply chains, global supply chain difficulties more generally, including shortages of construction raw materials, and the current inflationary pressures on energy and material costs.
Whilst there is a focus on the capital project and its delivery, we must not lose sight of the fact that the NCH project will deliver world class facilities that will improve and prioritise medical outcomes for the nation’s sickest children, while bringing about transformational change to the delivery of healthcare for the children of Ireland for generations to come.
