Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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176. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide all peer-reviewed evidence to support locating the national children's hospital at the St James’s Hospital site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8877/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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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.