Minister for Children Katherine Zappone TD visited the offices of the Children’s Hospital Group and the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board this week to learn about the state-of the-art new children’s hospital which open on the campus shared with St James’s Hospital in 2021 and the new Paediatric Outpatients and Urgent Care Centres which will open at Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals on a phased basis from 2018.
The Paediatric Outpatients and Urgent Care Centres at Tallaght Hospital and Connolly Hospital will provide urgent care paediatric services, including short stay observation beds, and outpatients clinics such as general paediatrics and orthopaedics for fracture clinics – all supported by therapies, phlebotomy, general X Ray and Ultrasound services – child sexual abuse counselling services and, at the Connolly centre, primary care dental services. Typically, the centres will care for children and young people who have a common, minor illness or injury which cannot be managed by a GP (primary care) but does not require the acute services of an Emergency Department. In advance of the centres opening, there will be a full information and awareness programme to ensure that families, the public and GPs understand the services that will be available and to encourage families to avail of services in close proximity to their homes. Meanwhile, the new children’s hospital on a campus shared with St James’s
Hospital will provide specialist (tertiary) level care to children from all over Ireland, and also secondary healthcare services for children who live within the M50 and in the Greater Dublin Area. Pictured from left to right are: Joe Donohoe, Fatima Groups United, Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD, Minister Katherine Zappone, Eilísh Hardiman, Chief Executive, Children’s Hospital Group, Phelim Devine, Design Director and Deputy Project Director, NPHDB.
Hashtags: #ChildrenHospital 
