Construction will start on new paediatric centre
By Mary Dennehy
CLOSE on ten years ago, The Echo published one of its first articles on the delivery of a Paediatric Outpatient and Urgent Care Centre at Tallaght University Hospital.
This was back in August 2010 when Tallaght was promised a children’s urgent care centre as part of original plans to build a national paediatric hospital on a site at the Mater Hospital by 2014.
Artist impression of new paediatric centre at TUH
Fast forward nearly ten years and, after a lot of uncertainty, challenges, changes and cost, the construction of a new national paediatric hospital is now underway at St James’s Hospital – with the facility scheduled for completion in late 2022.
Here in Tallaght, enabling and decant works on the new paediatric centre are now complete, with construction expected to commence in the coming weeks – with an opening date of 2020.
A second Paediatric Outpatient and Urgent Care Centre is also being delivered at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown, which is expected to open its doors this summer.
In a comment to The Echo, a spokesperson for the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board said: “Construction on the two new Paediatric Outpatients and Urgent Care Centres at Connolly Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital is progressing well.
“The external façade of the centre at Connolly Hospital is completed, inclusive of the roof, and this Centre is due to open in the summer of 2019.
“Enabling and decant works at the Centre at Tallaght University Hospital are complete and it is expected that construction works on the Outpatients/Urgent Care Centre will commence in a matter of weeks, with that Centre due to open in 2020.”
There will be over 5,000msq of clinical and work space both at Tallaght and Blanchardstown, with 50,000 urgent care attendances and more than 32,000 outpatient department attendances estimated across the two new units annually.
A second artist impression of the new paediatric centre at Tallaght
Each centre will have its own urgent care assessment cubicles, short stay observation beds, radiology department, general paediatrics clinics, including rapid access, and orthopaedic fracture clinics.
In advance of the centres opening, it is understood that information and awareness campaigns will be carried out to ensure that families, members of the public and GPs understand what services are provided.
Staffing
The Echo was in touch with the HSE this week about its plans to staff the new Paediatric Outpatient and Urgent Care Centre at Tallaght.
In its reply, a spokesperson for the HSE said: “Some existing staff in specific paediatric services at Tallaght University Hospital will move to the new paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre when it opens at Tallaght University Hospital in 2020.
“Other paediatric services, such as, inpatient services will continue there until they transfer to the new children’s hospital.”
The spokesperson added: “A Workforce Planning Strategy for the two Paediatric Outpatients and Urgent Care Centres at Connolly Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital and the new children’s hospital was commenced by Children’s Health Ireland to ensure that these new facilities open with the right number of staff in the right place at the right time to support the vision for paediatric services.
“This workforce planning involved engagement with clinical leaders and management across the three children’s hospitals and is ongoing.”
