Gaeilge

Search gov.ie

Press release

Minister for Health announces work underway on relocation of NMH to St Vincent’s University Hospital campus, at Elm Park

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has today provided an update to Cabinet on progress with the procurement process for main construction works for the new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) and the beginning of essential enabling works at the St Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH) campus at Elm Park.

Minister Donnelly said:

"I was pleased to update Cabinet colleagues today that contractors have moved on site for further essential enabling works for the new National Maternity Hospital and the wider resilience and sustainability of the St Vincent’s University Hospital campus at Elm Park.

"These enabling works will deliver new boilers and upgrades to electrical systems on the campus, as well as new buildings to accommodate a neurology ward, medical records, and a staff canteen. Those facilities are currently on the footprint of where the new NMH will be located. To save time and, ultimately money, we are doing these works at the same time as the public procurement process for the main works contractors who will deliver the new hospital."

The first stage of procurement process for the main construction works began in September 2023, following government approval to do so in July. The procurement process could take 18 months, whilst the enabling works, beginning this week, are expected to be completed in the first half of 2025. Once a successful tenderer has been identified, the final business case will be updated with the results of the tender process and brought back to Government for approval to proceed to award the main works contracts.

Minister Donnelly also noted:

"We are moving forward with this project as the most important investment in women’s healthcare in Ireland in decades, in line with the National Maternity Strategy. I’ve said before that the quality of care delivered at the NMH at Holles Street is of the highest standard but is limited by its current facilities.

"The design of the new NMH is aligned with leading international standards which will result in improved patient and family experiences. Co-location with St Vincent’s will enable greater and more direct access to a wide range of critical care and specialist medical services, reducing risk for both the mother and their newborn baby."

Notes

The new NMH will comprise a 7-story building with a gross internal floor area of approximately 54,000m2.

It will include 244 beds, an increase of 80 in-patient and day-case beds from the existing number at Holles Street, 5 Theatres, 24 Birthing Rooms, early pregnancy foetal assessment and ultrasound facilities, and spaces to aid in near-patient education and professional development for healthcare professionals.

It will also provide facilities to support a range of maternity, gynaecological and neonatal services such as enabling gynaecology service reforms recently developed at the Holles Street site to be deployed to their full capacity, including ambulatory gynaecology, specialist menopause clinic, regional fertility hub, endometriosis hub, and a national mesh complications service.

The hospital has been designed to support the delivery of a range of shared services between the NMH and SVUH hospitals, such as the laboratories, sterile services, and patient and staff catering, which will bring operational efficiencies.

The NMH has received planning consent and the design of the NMH has been approved and signed off at each of the project stages by the relevant stakeholders, reducing the likelihood of future changes.

Initial site preparation works took place in 2018. There is now a need to further decant a number of existing structures currently located on the site of the future NMH.

To accommodate this, a number of buildings must be completed in advance of the commencement of the main NMH works.

These include:

1. New electrical and mechanical energy centres (electricity, heating and hot water):

  • existing electrical control system is more than 25 years old, and boiler system is more than 30 years old
  • project includes upgrade of existing boilers and transformers at SVUH campus to new, high efficiency, low loss system
  • lighting system will also be upgraded in these areas to new low energy LED lighting
  • this investment will improve the efficiency, resilience and sustainability of campus systems through the use of more modern technology

2. Medical records building

3. Kitchen & Canteen

4. 13 bed neurology ward

Following a tender process earlier this year, Clancy Construction, has been selected to deliver the programme of works.

Part of

Policies