Ms Fiona Prendergast:

I thank the committee for inviting the Department to join the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board to assist the committee in its resumed examination of the 2019 financial statements. I am director in the health infrastructure division. I was hoping to be joined by my colleague, Mr. Derek Tierney. He is having some connectivity issues and, hopefully, he will join us shortly.

I acknowledge that the committee has requested a detailed update on the current status. The Department has previously written to indicate there are commercial sensitivities and elements which are confidential due to the fact there is a live contract in place, and there is an extremely high likelihood that any discussion on costs, however hypothetical, would prejudice engagement between the parties and could very likely negatively impact or jeopardise this project.

The children’s hospital is the most significant capital investment programme ever undertaken in Ireland’s healthcare system. It is a Government priority project and will bring together the services currently provided at three children’s hospitals into a modern, custom-designed, world-class digital hospital to deliver the best care and treatments for Ireland’s sickest children.

Despite the obvious challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has imposed on us all, significant progress has been made on the project. Mr. Gunning and colleagues have spoken to the specifics but the distinctive shape of the building is now clear. The fit-out of certain internal areas has begun and rooms and clinical areas now discernible. On a recent site visit, we got a real sense of how welcoming an environment it will be for children, their families and CHI staff, with lots of natural light and break-out spaces in addition to the world class health facilities.

I understand that committee members will be visiting the site tomorrow and will see at first hand the progress on the ground. It it will become clear to members that this is not just a hospital. It is effectively a new village to provide for Ireland’s sickest children, their families and the healthcare professionals who will care for them. There will be gardens, recreational facilities, a school for the patients and a university campus for future healthcare professionals.

One of most impressive aspects for us is the seemingly endless corridor on the theatre level that will be home to 22 world-class theatres and the respective prep rooms and anterooms. With the mock-ups of how the various rooms will be completed, there is a tangible sense of the positive clinical care experiences that patients and their families will have in the new hospital. I hope members will see that the vision for this new hospital is being realised and will garner an appreciation of the scale and complexities of the project, as we did.

The paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown opened in July 2019. From 4 January to 7 May of this year, approximately 2,500 children presented to the centre at Connolly. Approximately 96% of children are discharged home after their first visit. A small number are transferred for further investigation and treatment at Temple Street, Crumlin and Tallaght hospitals. The average amount of time spent by patients in the urgent care centre is 102 minutes. This is the time it takes from registration to being discharged after being seen and receiving the appropriate treatment from a doctor. The efficacy of this new facility, despite the challenges of the pandemic, speaks volumes.

The second satellite centre at Tallaght will open before the end of this year. This opening of the second of the three new campuses will be another important milestone in the NCH programme and in the delivery of children’s health services.

As already stated, the members of the committee also expressed an interest in the timeline and projected costs for the completion of the hospital. The Department acknowledges the responsibilities and duties of the Committee of Public Accounts and the interest of members in such matters. As the committee will be aware, a thorough analysis of the project was sought by the Minister for Health in the summer of 2020 to consider the optimal way forward for the completion of the project. I must advise that the analysis remains ongoing and the Department continues to work closely with the NPHDB towards its completion. As this analysis relates to the best way forward on a project that is subject to a live contract, it is commercially sensitive and must remain confidential for an extended period. A definitive update on costs cannot, therefore, be provided and it would be inappropriate and likely detrimental to the project to speculate on these.

Following the completion of this analysis and submission to the Minister for Health, who commissioned it, an update on the position will be provided to the relevant stakeholders, where appropriate, in light of the commercial sensitivities. I am pleased to say, however, that the development board is providing an update in relation to the timeline. In addition to this ongoing analysis, the NPHDB and the main contractor are currently working together to identify possible obstacles to the timely completion of the project. To allow this process to continue unencumbered and without distraction, both parties have agreed to a period of moratorium on claims. This ongoing moratorium applies to conciliations, adjudications and High Court proceedings. This will allow both parties to dedicate all their energies towards delivering the project as quickly as possible and is very much welcomed by the Department.

While there is demonstrable progress, there are also challenges associated with the project. Many of these are not specific to this project, however. We are still in the midst of a global pandemic. While work on NCH sites continued through the lockdown earlier this year, the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, is advising that we should expect a significant wave of Delta variant transmission and we must anticipate the many challenges this pandemic will continue to present. Indeed, the wider construction industry is challenged by supply chain issues and dramatic price increases. This was reflected in the recent national economic dialogue where it was noted that the pandemic and Brexit are impacting the economy and productivity and creating bottlenecks in the context of supply. These challenges face the children’s hospital project too, and notwithstanding the commercial sensitivities, makes speculation and definitive forecasting of costs and timelines even more unwise.

Nevertheless, reflecting the positives, we now have paediatric outpatient and urgent care being delivered at Connolly, a site at St. James's that is progressing well, with constructive engagement between the development board and its main contractor, and a new paediatric outpatients’ facility at Tallaght University Hospital is coming online later this year.