'An important milestone' - Govt approves legal framework for new maternity hospital

The government has approved the legal framework underpinning ownership and governance of the New Maternity Hospital (NMH). 

It follows the recent agreement by Cabinet to allow for additional public debate and scrutiny of documentation relating to the framework. 

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly called it "an important milestone". 

He said, "The new National Maternity Hospital is a critical piece of health infrastructure that will ensure women and infants are cared for in a state-of-the-art hospital that will help our clinicians deliver improved outcomes. 

"I would like to pay particular tribute to all of those from across our maternity services, from nurses to midwives to clinicians, along with the management and administrative teams behind them who have worked hard over the last two weeks to address and bring clarity to the genuine concerns of many relating to our new Maternity Hospital. 

"This announcement is the culmination of many years of dedication, engagement and hard work and I would like to thank all of those who have contributed so much to bring us to this exciting stage in the life of this vital project." 

The legal framework has also been approved by the HSE Board as well as the Boards of the NMH and St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG).

It addresses both the ownership and governance of the new hospital and will ensure all legally permissible services will be available, prevent any influence (religious or otherwise) on the operation of the new hospital, and safeguard the State's investment. 

Minister Donnelly continued: "There were concerns that access to essential healthcare services could potentially be restricted due to the religious beliefs or ethical code of the hospitals concerned. I am absolutely satisfied that this legal framework ensures this will not be the case and that all lawfully permissible services will be provided in the new NMH, as they are in the current NMH.”

CEO of the HSE, Paul Reid, said: “Delivering the new NMH at the St Vincent’s campus is a hugely important development in our efforts to improve maternity and gynaecology services in Ireland. The approval of the legal framework by all key parties brings us one step closer to making this new hospital a reality.”