The following is  an excerpt from a letter  received by the New Children’s Hospital Alliance under Freedom of Information  legislation.

From: Prof Brendan Drumm, CEO, HSE

To: Mr. Michael Scanlon, Secretary General, Department of Health and Children

Date: 10th April 2006

“..Mr. John O’Brien has indicated, in order to avoid any possible perception of bias, that he [will] step down from the Group [Task group on the Location of the National Paediatric Hospital] which he has chaired to date. While I am fully confident as to the objectivity, rigour and professionalism of the group, this possibility arises out of the continued candidacy of St. James’ Hospital as a potential site for the Children’s Hospital and John’s former association with St. James’s as CEO”..

Dr. Frank Dolphin was appointed on 23 February 2012, within hours of the rejection by An Bord Pleanála of the Mater site, to chair a new review committee on location. He is former Chairman of the Board of Management of the Children’s University Hospital Temple St. and a former member of the Board of Governors of the Mater Misericordia Hospital. He resigned from these positions in 2010.

Do different standards of probity apply in 2012 than in 2006?

See website post  : Dr. Dolphin should resign 24/02/2012

Irish Times 2nd March 2012

Building national hospital for children in nine steps

OPINION: AS A concerned citizen, I have been appalled by the handling of the project for a new National Children’s Hospital. Having instigated, planned, developed, and commissioned three hospitals in the country in the past 30 years, ie Blackrock, Galway and Hermitage clinics, I have gained some experience in this area. Continue reading Hospital Developer speaks out, 02/03/; read Responses 05/03/2012 →

The RKW Report ( Oct 2007), commissioned by the DoH/HSE to develop a Higher Level Framework Brief for the National Paediatric Hospital, uses three Co-location operational models – (i) Standalone, (ii) Campus model, & (iii) ‘Fully Integrated’ model.

The term “Co- location” as currently used  in media debate in Ireland about the NPH  confines the term to mean only what the RKW Report calls the ‘fully integrated’ model.

There has been gross exaggeration of the importance of adult hospital adjacency . See RKW Co-Location table.
(The table is from the RKW Report, Part 3, Appendix 1- Reference Sites Database Summary. It is the first table in  Appendix 1 -General Profile).

Continue reading Adult Hospital Co-location →

The New Children’s Hospital Alliance (NCHA) welcomes the decision 23/02/2012, of An Bord Pleanála to refuse permission for the proposed development of the National Paediatric Hospital at the Mater site. NCHA considers this decision ends the discussion of the Mater site as an option. Alternative sites must now be considered.
Continue reading Press statement from the New Children’s Hospital Alliance 26/02/2012 →

NCHA has learned with concern of the precipitous appointment of Dr. Frank Dolphin to chair the Review Committee, announced yesterday by the Minister for Health within hours of An Bord Pleanala’s decision.  Prior to his appointment by Minister Harney as Chair of the Board of the HSE in August 2010, Dr Dolphin was Chairman of the Children’s University Hospital ,Temple St. and a member of the Board of Governers of the  Mater  Misericordia Hospital. He resigned from both of these positions on his appointment to the HSE.

Given the legacy of mistrust generated over  the past five years it is essential that not even a perception of possible bias is allowable in this appointment particularly as the Minister has not outruled the possibility of the children’s hospital being built at the Mater.

NCHA believes that it is in the interests of the children of Ireland that Dr. Dolphin graciously decline the post. We further  believe that the Department of Children should partner the Department of Health in all future deliberations regarding the urgent development of the National Paediatric Hospital.

Despite what several persons have stated to the contrary in media interviews today ,23/02/2012,  the International Review in July 2011 was not a review of the choice of the Mater site.

Continue reading Clarification on The ‘Independent ‘ Review of July 2012 →

 CO-LOCATION

Mr. Cole, the Northern Ireland Deputy Secretary and Chief Estates officer in the Dept. of Health, Northern Ireland, spoke as an expert witness for the applicant (NPHDB)  on the topic of hospital co-location  at the recent Oral Hearing of ABP. He is Chairman of the European Health Property Network (EuHPN),  the organisation which recommended the team that conducted the Part One, Financial Analysis, NPH Independent Review commissioned by  Minister Reilly  in June 2011.

He showed slides of the Royal Hospital Group of Belfast hospitals and the new  Southern Glasgow Hospitals campuses  as examples of co-location. Site size was not mentioned.

Later, no answer was obtained from the applicant during the  ‘ Questioning of Applicant ‘ sessions( Mr. Cole not present) when the size of UK sites was requested by an observer.

We have since found the following information on the Belfast and Glasgow hospitals websites:-

Size of Royal Belfast Hospitals Campus  is 28.3ha   (70 acres) with 4 hospitals – Adult, Maternity, Children’s (107 beds) and Dental hospitals. There are 2300 car parking spaces of which 740 are for patient/visitors and 1560 are for staff.

Size of New South Glasgow Hospitals Campus is  28.9ha. – Adult, Maternity, Children’s(256 beds) hospitals, research,laboratory and facilities management building (includes genetics)

Plots on the campus for a  Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow(postgrad) building, Medical undergraduate and Nursing education buildings have been identified and buildings planned.

Compare these sites to  the Size of the Mater, Dublin, Site – 6.8ha  – Adult, Maternity and Children’s( 445 beds) hospitals.

Enough said.

The Review Group in its report, Part 2, p14,  states that it  ” heard from a group of parents and care givers, representing a coalition of around 40 disease-specific support groups”. Continue reading “Independent Review”July 2011 and “coalition of disease-specific support groups” →

You can hardly blame him that he got it wrong –  Dr. Shmerling, CEO of   Children’s Hospital  Colorado, that is.

After all, this is what the Mater Misericordia University Hospital (MMUH)’s website says:-

“The Mater Campus comprises:- Continue reading “Independent Review” July 2011 and a “University Campus”. →