Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, has called on Minister Donnelly to urgently prepare a workforce plan to fully and safely staff the new Children’s Hospital. He said the Minister must outline the timeline for handover, commissioning, and full opening of the hospital.

Teachta Cullinane was commenting following the publication of the Paediatric Critical Care Audit Report, saying that the Minister’s ambition needs to go much further than just the critical care unit to fully realise the potential of the new hospital.  He added that workforce development has been stalled by the recruitment embargo.

The Paediatric Critical Care Audit Report outlines an urgent need for a critical care workforce plan to open the new Children’s Hospital’s increased critical care capacity when it becomes available, which will increase capacity from 32 beds currently to 42 beds in the new hospital.

Teachta Cullinane said:

“Short of an asteroid hitting the planet, the new Children’s Hospital was to be open in 2020. Not only is it still under construction, but the Government still has no workforce plan to fully and safely staff the hospital, four years after it was meant to open.

“With the hospital nearing completion and handover expected in the coming year, the Minister for Health must put a workforce plan in place to realise the full potential of the new hospital. It will increase capacity for children’s healthcare, especially critical care and surgical capacity, but it will need to be properly staffed if children are going to get the benefits of this.

“It will take time to recruit these staff, and not all current Temple Street and Crumlin Children’s Hospital staff will want to transfer to the new hospital. Without a funded workforce plan, the hospital will not be able to open at full capacity.

“The health service is currently overshadowed by the recruitment embargo, which has stalled workforce development. It has sent a damaging message to healthcare workers at home and abroad that the Government does not support them. The embargo must be lifted.  

“We cannot have a situation where the new hospital is completed, but the staff are not in place to make full use of it. It will take six to nine months from handover for the hospital to be fully commissioned, and by that point it should be fully staffed. That will not happen without a detailed workforce plan for the whole hospital.

“The Minister has had four years, and Simon Harris has had eight years, to put a proper workforce plan in place for the new Children’s Hospital. We have yet to see any evidence that they have used this time to do that.

“I agree with the conclusions of the Paediatric Critical Care Audit, and the observation of Prof Martina Healy who said that there is a critical need for workforce planning with staff in place before the opening of the new hospital. I would go further than the report to say a plan is needed for the entire new hospital, not just critical care services.

“What we need now is a clear plan from the Minister for Health, who must outline the timeline for the completion, commissioning, opening, and full staffing of the new Children’s Hospital.”