Ms Lucy Nugent:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to again address it and to give a further update on work that is happening across our children’s hospitals and commissioning programme for the new children’s hospital. I am the CEO of CHI and I am joined by my colleagues Mr. John Fitzpatrick, interim chief financial officer; Ms Julia Lewis, CHI’s transformation director; Ms Eilish Hardiman, strategic programme director; and Ms Paula Kelly, clinical director.

I have now been five months in this job and despite the various challenges we have had - and I will speak about those later - I reiterate that I am proud to represent our almost 5,000 staff, who work diligently at the front line of paediatric healthcare provision in CHI at Temple Street, Crumlin and Tallaght, and at our urgent care centre at Connolly Hospital. Across 39 specialties, we provide exceptional care to children and young people in old buildings that are not fit for purpose. We continue to lead on paediatric research and innovation on an international stage because, as I have said many times before, our children and young people deserve the best that medicine and science can offer. When we discuss the challenges and mistakes of our organisation, let us not forget the remarkable work that our staff do to care for children, young people and families every day.

With regard to recent clinical issues raised, I again give full recognition to the families affected by the recent HIQA report, the developmental dysplasia of the hip, DDH, report and the unpublished internal report. On all these issues, on behalf of CHI, I apologise unreservedly. Children, young people and their families were failed and we need to rebuild trust in CHI.

I will speak briefly about the issue of publication of the various reports and the suggestion that CHI has been evasive in reporting or commenting on these issues. CHI is a statutory body and must respect the legal advice we receive, not to mention the moral imperative to protect the confidentiality of patients. We also have a duty to see that matters are properly investigated and that due process is carried out. This can sometimes mean that we cannot comment on matters, even if they are reported in the media or elsewhere. This does not mean that we are not mindful of the great upset that such reports cause parents and children, and the gravity of the issues. However, I assure members that this is never the intention. Our intention is always to ascertain the facts and take steps to fix the issues, while at the same time telling parents and children what we are doing.

In my first five months, I have worked with the board and my executive colleagues to enhance our governance structures and stabilise the executive management team with the hiring of a permanent director of people and culture, a deputy chief executive officer and a chief operations officer. The recruitment of a chief finance officer and a director of quality, safety and risk management has commenced. I am delighted that these high-calibre, new colleagues have chosen to join CHI.

I will update Deputies on recent reports regarding CHI and the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF. There was some misunderstanding in media reports about NTPF payments to a CHI consultant. I can confirm that the clinics at the centre of the reports did not take place in the consultant’s private rooms. They occurred in a public clinic in one of our hospitals on a Saturday. It was a waiting list initiative for outpatient appointments only. A longer term, sustainable solution for referral management was put in place and the roll-out of this system is ongoing. All services will be on this central referral system in the coming months.

CHI will move into the newly named national children’s hospital Ireland. In May, we updated the committee on plans to undertake a programme of commissioning to see our services - finally - move into a building worthy of the children of Ireland, that is operational to international standards. For the past six years, we have been building our organisation for that moment. We are integrating our teams. We are integrating our ways of working and we are integrating and improving our culture. This is complicated and difficult, but vital.

In conclusion, CHI fully acknowledges that we have fallen short of the high standards children and families deserve. We are deeply sorry for the harm and distress caused. We want to do better and we are committed to building an organisation defined by openness, compassion and learning. As a learning organisation, we will take inspiration from leading international children’s hospitals which have demonstrated that safety and trust are built on three pillars. First, under a culture of continuous learning and development, we will create an environment where every staff member feels safe and supported to speak up when things go wrong, and where we act quickly to learn and improve. We want a true partnership with children and families and will put children and families at the centre of all decisions about their care. This means working with parents as equal partners, ensuring they are informed, respected and empowered to shape services.

We want transparency and accountability. We are committed to being open about our challenges as well as our successes. We will publish regular updates on our progress in reducing waiting lists, improving outcomes, safety and strengthening our governance. We recognise that rebuilding trust will take time, but we are determined to ensure that every child who comes to CHI receives the safest, most innovative and compassionate care possible. We will get there, and CHI has the determination, skills and ability to see the new hospital project to completion and beyond.