Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to update the House on the paediatric development at CUH. A national model of care for paediatric healthcare services in Ireland has been developed by the HSE and sets out a vision for high quality, integrated, accessible healthcare services for children from birth to adulthood with an emphasis on early detection and prompt treatment.

The model will ensure that all children access high quality services in an appropriate location and within an appropriate timeframe. The model of care explicitly supports the development of the new children's hospital and an integrated national network of paediatric units. This will strengthen the connections and roles for local and regional paediatric units, including the regional unit in Cork University Hospital, CUH.

As the Deputy is aware, there are a number of distinct phases within the proposed paediatric developments at CUH. The HSE has advised the Department that phase 1 of the development has recently been completed and entails an outpatient facility and day-care, including a separate outpatient clinic facility for children in CUH, plus day-care for surgery and facilities for children living with diabetes and cystic fibrosis and their medical and nursing teams. There is also an attached facility for paediatric medical education.

Phase 2 of the paediatric development includes 74 inpatient paediatric beds and enhanced facilities for children who have to spend some time at the hospital. It is currently at the design stage. Capital funding for phase 2 is provided up to the detailed design and planning stage in 2019. I understand from the HSE that a capital submission for phase 3 of the development is being prepared to enable the "shelled" construction of this phase during the construction of phase 2. This submission will be considered by the HSE's capital steering committee.

I am happy to confirm that the paediatric development at CUH has been included in the Project Ireland 2040 policy initiative announced last year. This provides €10.9 billion for health capital developments across the country, including national programmes and individual acute, primary and social care projects. The delivery of these projects and programmes, including developments in Cork, will result in healthcare facilities that allow for implementation of new models of care and the delivery of services in high quality modern facilities.

My Department is continuing to work with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the HSE in a process to finalise as soon as possible a multi-annual capital plan for the HSE, which will include capital projects to be funded in 2019 and beyond, having regard to the available capital funding and the number of large national capital projects currently under way. The availability of funding determines the timeframe for the delivery of capital projects such as the proposed paediatric development at CUH. It is important to recognise that all capital development proposals must progress through detailed appraisal, planning, design and tender stages before a firm timeline or funding requirement can be established.

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