Work to begin on delayed £671 million children’s hospital in Belfast

By Jonathan McCambridge (PA)

Work will begin on building a new children’s hospital in Belfast within days, it has been announced.

The 10-floor facility will be located within Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital site.

The new hospital was originally planned to open in July 2020 at a cost of £223 million.

However, the project has been beset by delays and costs have risen.

There will now be a five-year construction timetable with the hospital projected to be opened by Belfast Health and Social Care Trust at the beginning of the next decade.

The construction works are valued at £389 million, with the overall development now projected to cost £671 million.

The cost of the works will be spread over the five-year construction period and will be funded from the Department of Health capital budget.

The new children’s hospital on the Royal site will accompany a new maternity hospital which had been expected to open this year, but is now facing a significant delay after high levels of the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa were found in the water systems.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Health Minister Mike Nesbitt confirmed the children’s hospital has now been given the formal go-ahead.

There will be 155 beds, 10 theatres, and an emergency department capable of catering for up to 45,000 children per year.

Eighty per cent of the beds will be in single rooms with private ensuite facilities, and each ward will benefit from social and play spaces, with parent facilities and separate staff areas.

Ms O’Neill said: “Providing high quality care for our sick and seriously ill children is a priority for this Executive.

“This is very welcome and long-awaited news for families across the north.

“Once completed the new hospital will provide our children and young people with access to the very best medical treatment as well as improving their overall experience of hospital care.

“I look forward to work starting on the hospital within the next few days and the significant benefits it will bring to staff and patients.”

Ms Little-Pengelly said: “This new Children’s Hospital at the Royal Victoria Hospital will transform services for children in a modern and fit for purpose facility.

“The investment by the Executive in this new hospital is a sign of our commitment to providing the highest quality care for our children.

“The state-of-the-art facility, equipped with the latest technology and play spaces, and staffed by dedicated professionals, will ensure that children receive the very best treatment in a nurturing and healing environment.

“It is imperative that we improve our healthcare services and drive down health waiting lists.”

Mr Nesbitt said: “This is excellent news for children and parents across Northern Ireland, and for our dedicated health and social care professionals who deliver outstanding care to children and young people.

“Patients and staff deserve the very best facilities that we can provide and the new Children’s Hospital will be truly world class, a healthcare facility that we can all be proud of.”

He added: “While we celebrate the go-ahead for this prestigious new facility, it’s important to acknowledge that, in common with major children’s hospital developments in Scotland and Republic of Ireland, this project has had a difficult history with significant delays and cost increases.

“I tasked departmental officials to identify the key lessons from the new Maternity Hospital project and ensure that they were applied ahead of the contract signing for the new Children’s Hospital.

“It is essential that a range of improvements are secured to the management of this project.”

Interim Chief Executive of Belfast Trust, Maureen Edwards said: “This a much-needed hospital that will ensure future generations of children in Northern Ireland will continue to receive exemplary, specialist, and dedicated care, but in a modern 21st century building.

“I am excited for current staff and for those to come, who will finally have a contemporary hospital building suitable for the needs of the children and the families they care for.”

David Porter (right), director of strategic development at the Belfast Trust, showing First Minister Michelle O'Neill (second right), deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Health Minister Mike Nesbitt an artist impression of how the new Belfast children's hospital development will look when completed (Photo by PA)