Ms Fionnuala Duffy:

Thank you. Good morning, Chairman and committee members. I am head of the acute hospitals policy unit in the Department of Health, with overall responsibility for the children’s hospital project. I am joined by my colleague, Ms Siobhán Kennan, assistant principal officer in the same unit. I thank the committee for giving us the opportunity to come here this morning to talk about the children’s health Bill 2017, concerning Phoenix Children's Health. The Bill is listed in the Government's legislative programme for publication this session as a priority for the Department. Accordingly, the agreement by this committee to prioritise scrutiny of the heads is very much appreciated.

As members all know, the development of the new children’s hospital is an extraordinary opportunity to transform paediatric services in Ireland. It is essential that the children's hospitals come together operationally well in advance of the move to the new facilities in order to ensure their effective functioning as a single entity, and to support the clinical, operational and cultural integration programme.

The children’s health Bill 2017 provides for the creation of a new entity that will be responsible for the operation of the new children’s main hospital and two paediatric outpatient departments, OPDs, and urgent care centres at Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals. The establishment of such an entity through legislation has the support of the three hospitals - Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, Temple Street Children's University Hospital and the paediatric services in Tallaght. The development of the draft legislation has benefitted enormously from the close engagement of the three hospital boards with the Department through the legal entity committee of the Children’s Hospital Group board.

As the Minister advised the committee at it meeting last week, the new hospital will be completed by the middle of 2022. The paediatric OPD and urgent care centre at Connolly will open in 2019 followed by the second centre at Tallaght in 2020. The new body will run the services on the existing sites at Tallaght, Temple Street and Crumlin until the time when the services can be provided from the new hospital and from the two OPD urgent care centres currently being developed.

It is essential that we have the right structure and approach in place to integrate the existing services over the next few years and to prepare for the delivery of the best possible paediatric health care in the new facilities.

On 26 July 2017, the Government approved the drafting of a Bill based on the general scheme we are discussing today. The legislation will provide for the establishment of a new entity to run the children’s hospital, to take on a leadership role nationally in regard to paediatric health care and to play a central role in the national roll-out of a new model of paediatric and neonatology services. Its functions will allow it to deliver on its remit for education and research, commensurate with its status as the national leading body in children’s health care.

It is appropriate in drafting the scheme that we are establishing a distinct body with appropriate governance. The new entity will be managed and overseen by a competency-based board of 12 members, appointed by the Minister for Health. The board will have sufficient autonomy to make the decisions required in order to effectively manage the operation of the hospital. This, for example, will extend to managing property, entering into contractual arrangements, accepting gifts and engaging in philanthropy.

In regard to accountability, the legislation provides for a requirement for ministerial approval in consideration of borrowing and a mechanism for intervention in the case of failure on the part of the board. This safeguard is considered to be essential, given that this is the national tertiary paediatric hospital and the delivery of a safe, quality service must be assured.

As the existing hospitals will no longer provide services after the new facilities become operational, the legislation also provides for the transfer of all staff, data, assets, rights and liabilities to the new body such as are appropriate for transfer. The Bill is included among the priority legislation for publication this session in the Government's legislative programme for autumn 2017. While we are working on the basis of enactment by the end of the first quarter of 2018, allowing for a reasonable timetable for publication and a smooth passage of the Bill through the Oireachtas, it is acknowledged that we are working to a tight timescale.

In addition to legislation enactment, there are due diligence and merger processes to be concluded before commencement by ministerial order. A significant programme of due diligence is under way as part of the overall pre-commencement analysis and review work being undertaken as part of the children’s hospital programme. The outcome of this work will be known and agreed before legislation commencement. We are anxious to have the body in place as soon as possible to lead the necessary preparations, including advance planning for the OPD and urgent care centres, and we were advised by the group CEO last week that the hospitals will be prepared for commencement by mid-2018. However, the Department, in conjunction with the HSE, will undertake an options appraisal of the pros and cons of commencement taking place during the financial year 2018 to inform the final decision on commencement timing.

This legislation also provides for certain amendments to the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board establishment order. Those include that members of the board shall be appointed from among persons who have the experience and expertise in regard to matters connected with the functions of the board, rather than through the processes of nomination of bodies. The scheme provides the legal mechanism for the dissolution of that board in due course.

Provision is also being made for the option for the Minister for Health to make an order giving the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board responsibility for the planning, design, building, furnishing and equipping of the new maternity hospital that will be located with the new children’s hospital on the St. James’s Hospital campus. It is considered prudent to allow for this provision in this general scheme, pending a final decision as to whether this function will be given to the development board.

Since the Government decision approving the drafting of legislation based on the general scheme, theOffice of the Parliamentary Counsel has been drafting the legislation. It will conclude its drafting following the receipt of the report of this committee to allow for publication of the Bill by the year's end.

I thank the Chairman and committee members. We will be happy to take any follow up questions.