New 155-bed children's hospital gets green light

An image of how the new hospital is to look viewed from the Falls Road

A new Northern Ireland children's hospital within Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital site has been given the formal go-ahead, with work scheduled to begin in a matter of days.

The hospital, which is to take five years to build, is expected to be open in 2030 at a cost of £671m.

The project has seen several delays since it was first announced in October 2013.

Costs have risen from an initial £250m to more than two-and-a-half times that, with a 10-year delay.

The 10-floor state-of-the-art facility, which is a Northern Ireland Executive project, will be able to cater for up to 45,000 children per year with 155 beds, 10 theatres, and an emergency department.

Eighty per cent of the beds will be in single rooms with private ensuite facilities, and each ward will benefit from social and play spaces, with parent facilities and separate staff areas.

'Very best medical treatment'

First Minister Michelle O'Neill said providing high quality care for sick and seriously ill children was a priority for the executive.

"This is very welcome and long-awaited news for families across the north," she said.

"Once completed the new hospital will provide our children and young people with access to the very best medical treatment as well as improving their overall experience of hospital care."

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said the new hospital would "transform services for children in a modern and fit for purpose facility".

"The investment by the executive in this new hospital is a sign of our commitment to providing the highest quality care for our children," she said.

"The state-of-the-art facility, equipped with the latest technology and play spaces, and staffed by dedicated professionals, will ensure that children receive the very best treatment in a nurturing and healing environment."

First Minister Michelle O'Neill, (second right) Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly (second left) and Health Minister Mike Nesbitt (right) with Ciaran Mulgrew, and Maureen Edwards of the Belfast Trust

The construction works are valued at £389m, with the overall development projected to cost £671m.

The works costs will be spread over the five-year construction period and will be funded from the Department of Health capital budget, rather than the separate budget for day-to-day health and social care services.

Colin McGrath said there was "political failure" in delivering the hospital

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) health spokesperson Colin McGrath said the executive failed to mention the project was first proposed in 2013 and costs had more than doubled.

The SDLP is the Official Opposition at Stormont.

McGrath said the costs were due to the the "failure of the executive and their predecessors to progress this in a timely manner".

"This project should have been completed in 2020 and instead the hospital will now open in 2030 at the earliest," he said in a statement.

"We want to see it delivered as soon as possible, but again we see executive ministers looking a pat on the back for doing the bare minimum - that's galling for the public who are picking up the bill for these delays".

'Difficult history'

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said it was excellent news for children and parents and for health and social care staff.

"Patients and staff deserve the very best facilities that we can provide, and the new children's hospital will be truly world class, a healthcare facility that we can all be proud of," he said.

"While we celebrate the go-ahead for this prestigious new facility, it's important to acknowledge that, in common with major children's hospital developments in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, this project has had a difficult history with significant delays and cost increases," he said.

"I tasked departmental officials to identify the key lessons from the new maternity hospital project and ensure that they were applied ahead of the contract signing for the new children's hospital.

"It is essential that a range of improvements are secured to the management of this project."

Analysis: Good news with a major warning

It's not every day we hear that Northern Ireland is to get a new hospital.

But that good news is accompanied with a major health warning.

The building of the new maternity hospital at the RVH raised many questions including who was in charge, who was accountable and will lessons be learned?

That build and its costs led to Mike Nesbitt telling the assembly he thought there had been a "typographical error".

Health committee members asked if the Belfast Health Trust should be placed on "special measures" with all the goings-on described by MLAs as "confusing" and an "omnishambles".

Building a hospital isn't cheap but costs shouldn't be multiplied due to repeated, and according to experts, avoidable mistakes.

As we start to see the new Children's Hospital making its presence felt – let's hope accountability and public checking is also visible.

Remember tax payers' money is precious, not a penny can afford to be wasted.

'Much needed'

Interim chief executive of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Maureen Edwards, said she was delighted that work would soon begin on the new hospital.

Belfast Trust has had several issues delivering large scale building projects with a series of building defects which have spanned a decade.

A new maternity hospital, at the Royal Victoria site is already almost 10 years behind schedule after numerous delays.

There have also been repeated cases of pipework and building defect issues after damage emerged at the Acute Mental Health Inpatient Centre at Belfast City Hospital.

The Executive Office said Belfast Trust now had a new director of strategic development who is the senior responsible owner for the children's hospital development.

Much of his workload will be attributable to the project.

The Department of Health will have active oversight of the project and will liaise closely with the trust and contractor throughout the construction period.

Delays and spiralling costs

Children's hospitals in Dublin and Edinburgh have also seen delays and spiralling costs.

The initial cost forecast for the new National Children's Hospital in Dublin a decade ago was about €650m (£538m).

It is now projected to cost €2.24bn and it is hoped it will open in 2026.

The delayed 2019 opening of Edinburgh's Sick Kids hospital is being examined by the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry.

The opening of the children's hospital in Edinburgh was postponed when last-minute inspections found safety concerns over its ventilation systems.