Construction of new National Maternity Hospital expected to begin next year

Construction of the new National Maternity Hospital is expected to begin early next year, after the Government formally approved the €1.86 billion project.

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill on Tuesday secured Government approval for the new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) at the St Vincent’s University Hospital campus at Elm Park, Dublin, to proceed to construction.

John Sisk & Son has been appointed as the main contractor, while Designer Group has been appointed as reserved specialist contractor for mechanical and electrical works.

The announcement comes more than a decade after plans were announced to relocate the NMH to Elm Park.

The €1.86 billion budget is more than 10 times the amount originally allocated in 2013 when it was estimated the construction of the hospital would cost around €150 million.

Expected to be completed in 2033, the seven-storey, 54,000sq m building will include 244 beds in single-occupancy en suite rooms, five operating theatres and 24 birthing rooms. It will have capacity for 10,000 births a year.

Prof Jennifer Walsh, master of the NMH, said the move was an “important step forward” for women and babies in Ireland.

“In addition to providing maternity care, the NMH cares for women across every stage of reproductive and gynaecological health, supporting them through the many different stages of life,” she said.

“The new hospital is designed to provide modern, state-of-the-art clinical facilities in which to provide world-class care. Importantly, it will also give our patients the privacy, space and dignity they expect and deserve.”

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The Department of Health said the design of the new NMH has been approved and signed off at each of the project stages by the relevant stakeholders, reducing the likelihood of future changes.

The finalised design was subject to external review and validation before the project progressed to tender.

It added that the budget excludes the impacts of global market fluctuations beyond that provided for in statistically probable worst-case scenarios.

Carroll MacNeill said Government approval was a “major milestone” and will provide “state-of-the-art” services in a purpose-built facility beside St Vincent’s.

“This co-location will ensure that women and newborn babies, particularly those with complex clinical needs, have immediate access to the highest levels of specialist care when required,” she said.