Plans for new €150m national maternity hospital on hold

The planned €150 million development of a new national maternity hospital on the campus of St Vincent’s hospital in Dublin has been put on hold.

The relocation of the maternity hospital, one of the largest in the country, from its outdated premises in Holles Street to a modern facility on the St Vincent’s campus, is a key health project for the Government.

The St Vincent's Healthcare Group has suspended its involvement because of a dispute with the HSE and the current National Maternity Hospital over the planned project.

The board of the group told Minister for Health Leo Varadkar, in a letter sent on May 6th, that until it had evidence of "real and constructive engagement" on matters of concern, "we believe we must pause our engagement with the project".

The St Vincent’s group said there were two matters that had to be resolved before it could commit to final design and planning applications.

“Firstly, we need to ensure that St Vincent’s, the National Maternity Hospital and the HSE have a common and clear understanding of how the integrated facility will be governed and managed once it is complete, to ensure that planned benefits are all delivered.

‘Adversely affected’

“Secondly, we need to have involvement in managing the construction project so we can ensure that our delivery of healthcare services on campus would not be adversely affected during the several years required to complete the integrated facility.”

In the letter to the Minister, the group said dealing with these two issues had “proved to be problematic” despite repeated attempts by its representatives to reach an agreement.

Mr Varadkar said last night he would respond to the letter in due course. “The issues raised . . . are significant but not insurmountable,” he said.

The development of the new maternity hospital was formally announced by former minister for health James Reilly exactly two years ago.

At the time, the National Maternity Hospital said a new facility was urgently needed as its current Holles Street site was no longer fit for purpose.

Relations between the St Vincent’s group and the HSE have been tense recently over a number of issues, including governance and consultants working in its private hospital.