‘€1bn hospital is far more important than my children’, says father of kids with cystic fibrosis
Louis Roden, who campaigned for 15 years for a new children’s hospital in Ireland said his two children, like countless others, would have moved into the adult system by the time the hospital opens.
The chairman of the New Crumlin Hospital Group and who is from Dublin, has two teenage children who have cystic fibrosis.
“This new hospital is far more important than my children, and that is really saying something,” he said.
“This is for the children of Ireland, and they are the ones who often come last in the equation.”
The 12-acre site on the St James’s Hospital campus in Dublin has been cleared and is now ready for the laying of foundations for what will be one of the biggest buildings in Ireland.
“Our children have waited a long time for this new hospital, but there is light at the end of the tunnel now,” said Health Minister Simon Harris.
Construction of the hospital will commence within weeks, and Mr Harris said he expects it to be delivered on budget and on time. It is due to be completed towards the end of 2021. Mr Harris said it was not fair to say the cost had spiralled. The original estimate was €650m in 2014, but it did not include a hospital school, research centre, or other facilities.
He pointed out that the cost was also given at a time when construction inflation was running at 3% — it is running at 9% now.
The cost per hospital bed is €1m, but the project team says this is in line with similar hospital projects in Britain, the US, and the Middle East, and represents value for money.
The hospital, into which the three existing Dublin children’s hospitals will be merged, will have 380 individual inpatient rooms with their own en suite and a bed for parents.
Caroline Duggan, a parent from Dublin, has been involved in plans for the new hospital. One of her two daughters was born with a cyst on the brain and regularly attends the neurosurgical unit in Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
“As well as more space, ultimately what you want is for your children to have the best hospital experience possible, so they are not afraid to go back again,” said Ms Duggan.
The paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre at Tallaght Hospital is due to open towards the end of next year and the children’s centre at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown will open early in 2019.
