Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 756: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the lands and site at Dundrum Hospital were considered for the new Children's Hospital. [1713/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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In late 2005, the Health Service Executive (HSE), at my request, undertook a review of tertiary paediatric services. McKinsey & Company were engaged by the HSE to advise on the future strategic organization of tertiary paediatric services in line with best practice and in the best interests of children.

The resulting report — "Children's Health First" — International best practice in tertiary paediatric services: implications for the strategic organization of tertiary paediatric services in Ireland — included a number of key recommendations:

The population and projected demands in this country can support only one world class tertiary paediatric hospital;

It should be in Dublin, and should ideally be collocated with a leading adult academic hospital;

It should also provide all the secondary (i.e. less complex) hospital needs of children in the Greater Dublin area;

It should be supported by a strategically-located urgent care service.

A joint HSE / Department of Health and Children Task Group was established to advise on the optimum location of the proposed new hospital. As a key recommendation of "Children's Health First" was that the new paediatric facility would ideally be collocated with an adult academic teaching hospital in Dublin, the Task Group invited six major adult hospitals to make submissions.

Proposals were also received from a number of private hospitals, property developers and site owners. None of the proposals presented by the private interests satisfied the requirement of collocation with an adult academic teaching hospital. The site of the Central Mental Hospital at Dundrum was also brought to the attention of the Task Group. However, as this site similarly does not include an adult academic teaching hospital, it was not considered suitable by the Task Group as a possible site for the new National Paediatric Hospital.