It has been a monumental project long in the works.
But it looks like it will still be a bit of a wait before the new National Children’s Hospital will be up and running for real.
According to the Irish Examiner, construction of the National Children’s Hospital is set to finish by the end of 2023, but a further nine months for fit-out means patients will not be treated there until 2024 – at the earliest.
“Our target is to be complete by 2023, substantially complete,” explains National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) project director Phelim Devine during a tour of the giant complex.
The fitting out of 380 single rooms, 42 critical-care beds, a 93-bed day unit, and 18 operating theatres could take nine months during 2024, he said.
As part of the massive building’s design, more than 600 windows have already been installed, something which will provide patients, their families and also staff at the hospital with beautiful views of either a garden or the hills of Dublin.
“There is quite a bit of research on green space and gardens and the benefits they have for children’s health,” explains NPHDB medical director and paediatrician at Tallaght University Hospital, Dr Emma Curtis.
Curtis admits she is excited about the benefits for children.
“I’m thrilled. It’s really encouraging to see the progress being made,” Curtis said.
“I’m sure people were getting despondent. There were people thinking their child would attend, but won’t now, because they have grown up. But i
The new hospital will have amenities like beds for families, with sofa beds also being available in patient rooms. As well as this, there will be an underground car park which will be reserved almost exclusively for families, a 250m corridor connects the operating theatres, including a hybrid theatre for neurosurgery linked to an MRI suite.
A helicopter pad is also nearing completion, and the state of the art hospital will create electronic health records, the first in Ireland for children’s care.
Dr Curtis and other team members visited hospitals internationally to get inspiration for Ireland’s new National Children’s Hospital, and she described the new facility as “world-class”.
About 2,500 staff from Tallaght, Temple St, and Crumlin hospitals will work at the new hospital and at two satellite clinics in Blanchardstown and Tallaght.
This means instant access for families to 39 medical specialities including second opinions, and children will particularly benefit from four acres of gardens, with a separate space for immuno-compromised children.
