THE NEW NATIONAL CHILDREN’S Hospital may now not open fully until 2026, The Journal understands.

While the construction completion date for the long-delayed hospital is still June, it is understood the “operational commissioning” phase will take at least six months. 

A briefing note from Department of Health to the new Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill states that moving patients from the numerous children’s hospitals cannot be undertaken in winter due to “clinical risks”. 

A statement from the department confirms that, in line with international best practice, the movement of children cannot be undertaken in the winter period due to the risks involved. 

“In order to minimise clinical risk to sick children, migration must be carried out when emergency activity is at its quietest and elective activity must be reduced so that there is the minimal number of patients to be transferred and the maximum number of staff available to achieve this safely,” the department added.  

It is understood that the timeframe between July and October is most likely too tight to get the commissioning work completed, however the timeline will be scrutinised in the coming weeks to see if acceleration can be achieved. 

It is understood that spring 2026 is now seen as the optimum time for the large scale logistical plan. 

The relationship between the construction firm BAM, the board overseeing the hospital construction and the state has soured over the years over the delayed project. 

The board overseeing the hospital’s development accused BAM of having a “complete disregard for sick children” last year. 

At the time, BAM signalled that the deadline for completion had moved to June 2025.

Following this, former Health Minister Stephen Donnelly met with the global chief executive of BAM where he was assured the June 2025 completion date would be met. 

In addition, a plan was agreed that only when the state took the keys from the contractor would the commissioning teams begin to go in, and that that process would begin much earlier.

Donnelly said at the time that the process of commissioning, which is basically the time from when the state takes over the building to the time you can start bringing children into it, should be accelerated. 

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Not only does it involve moving patients, but commissioning the building means moving in machinery, getting labs operational and carrying out workforce training for three hospital teams of up to 4,000 staff who will all be working under a new digital health system.

The statement from the Department of Health states that this phase also involves the clinical fitout for the entire hospital.

“With over 4,600 clinical spaces, this will be a complex phase, which will take at least six months,” the department said.

Large-scale operation of moving children into the hospital

It is only then can the migration of patients begin, which will involve the large-scale operation of managing discharges and the transportation of young and vulnerable patients from the three children’s hospitals already in operation.

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This massive operation is expected to be done at night with some parts of the city centre needing to be closed off.

A statement from the department to The Journal said the government is committed to seeing the new children’s hospital open as soon as possible, stating that everything is being done to ensure opening the building with minimal further delays.

“The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has advised that BAM’s latest programme states its intention to achieve substantial completion by the end of June 2025. NPHDB continues to actively monitor BAM’s progress against that date,” said the department.

Labour health spokesperson Marie Sherlock said the public will be shocked but not surprised to hear of yet another delay in the delivery of a much needed hospital.

“The news that it will now be 2026 for the likely opening will be another blow in this long running saga for families and hospital staff who desperately need access to better facilities.  

“The reality is the main contractor of the hospital has moved the completion date over 14 times and four times over the course of 12 months up to last year. However, the revelation today owes itself to the Government not playing straight with the public,” she said. 

Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane called on the new health minister to take control of the situation. On the issue of the commissioning phase of the project, he said a workforce and commissioning plan need to be in place now to make sure that the staff are ready to set up and open the new hospital at the earliest possible date.

Previous reports have flagged concerns that this is not happening fast enough, despite years of delays, he said. The department has said the pre-commissioning phase began in July 2023.