Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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279. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the report which has endorsed the St James's site as the best location for the new national children's hospital; the rationale that resulted in the St James's site being selected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4819/17]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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280. To ask the Minister for Health the clinical considerations undertaken by his Department which resulted in the St James's site being selected as the best location for the new national children's hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4820/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 279 and 280 together.

The Government decision that the new children's hospital should be co-located with St James's on its campus in Dublin 8 was clinically led. In 2006, the McKinsey report, Children's Health First, recommended that the population of Ireland and projected demand could support only one world-class tertiary paediatric centre, that this should be in Dublin and that it should ideally be co-located with a leading adult academic hospital, to ensure relevant sub-specialty and academic linkages. The McKinsey report recognised the importance for quality of healthcare of having a critical mass of sub-specialist skills in a tertiary centre and stated this could be achieved firstly, by serving a large enough population to support a full complement of sub-specialists and secondly, by co-locating with an adult teaching hospital thus enabling access to specialties that encompass both adult and paediatric patients, facilitating clinical and academic “cross fertilisation”, and attracting the top staff.

Reviews since 2006 have reaffirmed the importance of co-location with a major adult academic teaching hospital. In 2011, Minister Reilly established an Independent Review Group to examine the project at the Mater. The clinical aspect of this review was carried out by a team of four Chief Executive Officers drawn from the National Association of Children's Hospitals (NACHRI) and the Children's Hospitals International Executive Forum (CHIEF). Their report stated that “co-locating with tertiary adult and maternity hospitals is essential to the development of an excellent paediatric service. This has become best practice internationally and was recognised in the McKinsey report.”

In 2012, following the refusal of planning permission for the project at the Mater campus, Minister Reilly established the Dolphin Review Group to advise on next steps. Their report stated that “Having reviewed the reports already prepared and considered their analysis and opinions, and having also consulted with a wide range of professionals in the field, we are also of the view that co-location is essential and tri-location optimal. We recommend that the Minister remains on this path." Co-location with an adult hospital is the norm internationally, driven by four major advantages, namely access to adult specialists; access to expensive equipment (such as PET, MRI scanners); research and educational synergies; and facilitation of continuity in the care of the adolescent/young adult with chronic disease. A clinicians' sub-group of the Dolphin Group examined issues relating to clinical specialties and sub-specialties, transitional care for adolescents, and the integration of paediatric health research and education in the new children's hospital. From a clinical and academic perspective, the Dolphin Group identified St James's Hospital as the existing Dublin Academic Teaching Hospital that best meets the criteria to be the adult partner in co-location because it has the broadest range of national specialties and excellent research and education infrastructure.

The Government decision to co-locate the hospital with St James's was announced on 6 November 2012. In identifying the location, the Government considered the report of the Dolphin Group, and detailed supplementary information on cost, time and planning which was subsequently sought from those members of the Group with the relevant technical expertise. The decision was made in the best interests of children, with clinical considerations paramount in the decision.

As announced in June 2015, the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital will relocate to the campus in time, achieving tri-location of adult, paediatric and maternity services. Tri-location has benefits for children, adolescents, newborns and mothers. In all cases, the benefits of tri-location are maximised where the adult hospital provides the broadest possible range of clinical sub-specialties and expertise, which are readily accessible for paediatric and maternity patients on the shared campus. Also, tri-location that delivers the most significant breadth and depth of clinical and academic research on site will enhance the potential of research to drive best clinical outcomes.

Furthermore, excellence in modern paediatric practice cannot be achieved without an embedded culture of, and focus on, research, education and innovation. More than a hospital, the new children's hospital and satellite centres will be a research-intensive academic healthcare institution. To deliver this vision, the main facilities for research and innovation will be located at the Children's Research and Innovation Centre (CRIC) on the St James's campus. The CRIC facility will be located adjacent to the Institute of Molecular Medicine, a cross university facility which delivers both undergraduate and postgraduate education and has a strong research platform in cancer, infection and immunity and neurosciences. This direct adjacency reflects one of the many and significant opportunities being leveraged by co-locating on the campus with St James's Hospital, with its rich history in clinical research. Clinical management and research staff at the new children's hospital will be able to study, evaluate, and improve the healthcare services provided to children and young people in Ireland.

I trust this clarifies the matter for you.