THE DESIGN OF the new Children’s Hospital at St James’s Hospital has been revealed.
Located in Dublin 8, the design of the seven-storey building was unveiled by Minister Leo Varadkar and the Office of the Ombudsman for Children this morning.
Delayed for some time over controversy about where it should be located, it is understood that planning permission will be sought shortly and that work could commence by the end of the year.
The oval-shaped campus will have 42 beds in its critical care unit, 18 neonatal critical care units and 380 single in-patient rooms with ensuite bathrooms and an overnight bed for parents, as well as therapeutic gardens on the roof. There is also a 60-bed facility for family accommodation near the entrance.
A multi-level day-lit concourse connects the main entrance with the hospital’s other principal public entrance from the LUAS, a two-minute walk away.
“This breath-taking design does its job really well,” Varadkar said today. “It’s clear from the open-plan building, the gardens, the sports facilities, and the state-of-the-art wards that this is a unique building.
This is the largest health infrastructure project in the history of the State. But it’s only when you see a model or an artist’s impression that you realise just how much work has gone into the project, and I want to commend the Development Board for reaching this stage. We will all be really proud of this iconic Hospital when it’s built.
The Project Director, John Pollock, said his team is continuing to talk with hospital employees, residents, family members and patient advocacy groups about the internal layout of the hospital.
“They are giving us significant input, feedback and advice. We are well on the way to delivering on the vision of creating one of the finest children’s hospitals in the world and are delighted to share the image broadly today,” he said during the launch today.
Previous concerns about parking spaces and the location in Dublin 8 were dismissed by the architects, who said they are used to challenging briefs and did not see “what the fuss was about”.
The long-promised €650 million hospital is due to open in 2019, about three years later than initially planned.
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