Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Many people are interested in this Commencement matter. As Senator Fitzpatrick has quite rightly said, the Rotunda Hospital is the world's oldest and Ireland's busiest maternity hospital, with the phenomenal number of 8,000 babies being delivered every year. I thank her for raising the issue and giving me the opportunity to outline to the House on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, the position on the Rotunda Hospital.

Project Ireland 2040 provides €10.9 billion for health capital developments throughout the country, including funding to support implementation of the national maternity strategy. Co-location of maternity services with adult services provides mothers with access to a full range of medical and support services should the need arise. The availability of these services helps ensure the delivery of an optimum, safe service, particularly for high risk mothers and babies. Work on the co-location of the Rotunda Hospital with Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, in line with health policy, is progressing. The programme for Government includes a commitment to "Progress the planning, tender and design stages for the relocation of the Coombe Hospital to St James's, the Rotunda Hospital to Connolly, and Limerick University Maternity Hospital to University Hospital Limerick." A master plan has been prepared for the Connolly campus in support of the co-location of the Rotunda Hospital.

In the short term, it is acknowledged that there is a need to address the highest infrastructural risk and capacity issues at the existing hospital on Parnell Square on a prioritised and interim basis pending development of the new hospital in the medium term. The Rotunda Hospital has proposed the development of a critical care wing to address its identified key clinical risks. There has been engagement between the Department of Health, the HSE and the Rotunda to clarify the scope and extent of the development needed at the Rotunda to resolve patient safety risks arising from infrastructural challenges at the hospital. In the context of the long-term objective of relocating the Rotunda, however, any infrastructural development on the site should be confined to the minimum necessary requirements and designed only to address the priority patient safety risks.

In 2020, €4.6 million was provided by the HSE to the Rotunda Hospital to address capacity and infrastructural needs in the foetal assessment unit, neonatal intensive care unit, emergency theatre and delivery suites. Given the age and condition of the original hospital buildings, however, other issues remain. In this regard, additional funding of €100,000 has been provided by the HSE to the Rotunda to prepare a strategic assessment report and preliminary business case in support of the proposed critical care wing, as required under the public spending code. These reports have recently been submitted to the HSE and are under consideration. A projected €250,000 will be allocated in 2021 to assist further in progressing proposals to address areas of critical risk in the existing hospital buildings.