Construction BUSINESS

A planning application for the move of the National Maternity Hospital from Holles Street to St Vincent’s Hospital was recently lodged. The project is the largest investment to be made in maternity services in the State, catering for up to 10,000 births a year. The move follows an 18-month dispute between the two institutions over governance of the new hospital and the recent decision by An Bord Pleanála that the development constitutes strategic infrastructure and can therefore be fast-tracked through the planning process.

Due to delays caused by the inter-hospital row, an increase in construction inflation and the fact that the building has to be inserted into an existing hospital campus, the estimated cost of the project has doubled since it was first announced. The €296 million projected cost includes new facilities for the adult hospital at St Vincent’s. The project is expected to be completed in 2021, three years after the original completion target.

Facilities will include five operating theatres; 50 neonatal intensive care and special care single-cot rooms and 24 delivery rooms. All expecting mothers will be accommodated in single rooms. The project will also include the provision of shared services for the overall campus including a canteen and waste management facilities.

Minister for Health Simon Harris welcomed the lodging of the application during a visit to the site on Friday. “This is a milestone in the development of the future infrastructure we want for our maternity services so today is a landmark day. We are going to provide women with an appropriate environment where they can deliver their babies in safety, in comfort, and with their privacy respected.”