Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 2008, KPMG reviewed maternity and gynaecology services in the greater Dublin area and recommended that Dublin maternity hospitals should be located alongside adult acute services. This is the optimal solution for hospital-based maternity services, as it gives access to the full range of medical and surgical specialties and clinical support services, in sufficient volume and complexity. This is particularly important for high-risk mothers and babies. In this context, it is proposed the National Maternity Hospital be relocated to St. Vincent's hospital.

There is a real opportunity for the maternity service providers to formalise their relationship with their partner adult hospital at the earliest opportunity to realise clinical and financial benefits as well as efficiencies well in advance of physical co-location. The National Maternity Hospital has been working with St. Vincent's University Hospital to progress this from a service perspective and working with the HSE in the development of the business case for relocation.

Management and delivery of health infrastructure programmes, including financing, is the responsibility of the HSE. However, as this project cannot be dealt with in isolation, it must be considered in the context of the HSE multi-annual capital programme. In prioritising capital projects within its overall capital allocation, the HSE must take into account existing capital commitment and costs to completion over the period.

Work on the draft capital plan for the next multi-annual period 2013-17 will begin shortly and will be submitted to the Department of Health in due course. The Department will then review the proposals and follow up with the HSE where further details may be required. The draft capital plan will require the Minister’s approval with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

In the interim, specific improvements can and have been made in defined areas in the existing hospital such as the recent provision of a new operating theatre and a hospital rewiring project. I accept these remedial works will only address the immediate problems of the infrastructure. The proposed relocation of the hospital to the St. Vincent's University Hospital site is still being given high priority. The Minister's concern with this issue, as with all health issues, is with patient benefit and patient outcomes. We must use within the acute system our extremely limited health resources for the maximum possible benefit and to deliver safe, modern services. Any decision on the future delivery of maternity services in Dublin, including the location of those services, will be made in this context.

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