One in six babies in this State is born in the Rotunda. It is the busiest maternity hospital in the country by some distance and it is also the oldest maternity hospital in the world, and in many ways it feels like it. I was there yesterday to speak to the team after the devastating news that the planning permission for their long-awaited and desperately needed extension had been overturned. On Friday, as the news filtered through the hospital corridors, staff were in shock. One told me they burst into tears. They literally could not believe it because they could not comprehend how anyone could walk into that neonatal intensive care unit and deny that those babies needed more space. I visited the neonatal intensive care unit yesterday to see the conditions myself. It is not a large room and it is stuffed full of equipment that overflows into the surrounding corridors. Right now there are seven babies in incubators in that room. Their machines are practically on top of each other and their mothers and nurses are squeezed into the spaces in between. One mum with her tiny, gorgeous baby on her chest was afraid to lean too far back in her chair in case she hit another incubator. There is no privacy, no dignity and no proper protection from hospital-acquired infections. There is about a meter between each incubator, to fit parents, nurses and equipment. The team in the Rotunda hoped that would change when a critical care extension was built onto the hospital. That extension would have included a 20-bed neonatal intensive care unit and a 25-bed special care baby unit, as well as new labour and postnatal wards and 80 additional hospital bedrooms - a game-changer for the care of women and babies. Unbelievably, however, planning permission for this extension was revoked by An Coimisiún Pleanála. An appeals board said the extension did not represent an overwhelming public benefit "sufficient to justify the degree of heritage harm identified". On what planet is the treatment of premature babies not an overwhelming public benefit? The mind boggles. The absurdity of that decision makes at least some sense when we realise that An Coimisiún Pleanála partially based this decision on Government policy to co-locate the Rotunda with Connolly Hospital. Listening to the Minister for Health this morning and visiting the hospital yesterday, it is clear that is not the case any more. This decision, as well as being completely mad, it is partially based on outdated information. We all agree that co-location is best practice for any maternity hospital, but it is abundantly clear to everyone that the Rotunda is not going to be co-located with Connolly. It already works alongside the Mater and that relationship should be formalised in the upcoming national maternity strategy. Will the Taoiseach now confirm that plans to co-locate the Rotunda with Connolly Hospital will not go ahead? Will he explain why this announcement was not made before the planning decision was made? What is the Government going to do now to get this urgent project over the line and how will it do that quickly?
Sentiment score: 0.12
The Taoiseach says colocation between the Rotunda and the Mater is there in essence. Yes, I agree with him and everyone can see that. The problem the Taoiseach is talking around is that it is not there in reality in the Government's maternity strategy and An Coimisiún Pleanála brought that into its decision-making process. Part of the reason it gave when balancing it with the cultural heritage of the area was that this was not the long-term plan. However, the long-term plan has changed. The Government failed to acknowledge that, even five months ago when the appeal was put in. The Minister came out on the radio this morning and basically clarified that situation five months later. Now, the decision has been made. There will be a massive delay in this extension happening no matter what and the Government now needs to at least take responsibility for that and admit it was the Government's strategy that misled An Coimisiún Pleanála into making this decision. That is the very least the Government could do when the delay is considered. At the moment - I do not know how to emphasise this enough - there are 22 postnatal women sharing one bathroom. There is one bathroom between 22 women who have just given birth. All of those intensive care units for tiny premature babies are jammed into a room. There is not room for the two parents to go into see their baby at one time. This will go on even longer because the Government did not inform An Coimisiún Pleanála that the plan to colocate has changed.
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Has the Taoiseach read An Coimisiún Pleanála's-----
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Has the Taoiseach read the decision?
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They cited the colocation with Connolly Hospital.
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You should read the An Coimisiún Pleanála reason.
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It said it was because of colocation.
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That was taken into consideration.
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It does.
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