Children’s Health Ireland opens at Connolly in Blanchardstown

Children’s Health Ireland at Connolly in Blanchardstown opens

– The new facility, the first tangible element of the new children’s hospital project, will deliver upon the new paediatric model of care which brings care closer to the patient’s home

The new paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre, Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Connolly in Blanchardstown, will open on 31 July 2019. This is a new, state of the art paediatric outpatient and urgent care facility offering a range of services to children, young people and their families in the local area as well as those in Dublin north city and county, surrounding areas in Kildare and Meath as well as all those who choose to use the services.

The opening of CHI at Connolly in Blanchardstown is a major milestone in the new children’s hospital project, the most significant investment in healthcare ever undertaken by the State. It will have an impact on children, young people, their families and staff for future generations to come. Key elements of the national paediatric model of care for the benefit of patients by bringing fast, convenient, quality care close to their home, as is clinically appropriate will be implemented in this new facility.

The new building on the campus of Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown was handed over in May 2019 by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) to Children’s Health Ireland for a period of clinical and operational commissioning. A range of services will be provided at CHI at Connolly in Blanchardstown, including urgent care for the treatment of minor injury and illness that requires prompt treatment but is not life threatening and does not require a visit to the Emergency Department (ED). Children with minor injuries such as fractures, sprains, minor burns, small cuts and illnesses such as vomiting, diarrhoea and mild asthma should all come to the new Centre. The urgent care centre is a walk-in service – no appointment is necessary.

A short stay observation unit will allow for children and young people to be observed and treated by a Consultant for up to six hours before being discharged, with a small number of patients requiring onward referral to one of other children’s hospitals.

Outpatient services will be from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday.

The Urgent Care Centre will open on a phased basis. This phasing allows us to monitor and review our processes, provide on the job training of staff and above all else, assessing and monitoring patient safety.

The initial hours of opening for the urgent care centre will be 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

Hours of opening will be increased as ongoing recruitment is successful and in response to the monitoring of processes. There are recruitment challenges nationally in certain specialities, such as Paediatric Radiology and Paediatric Emergency Medicine. While our recruitment campaign for emergency medicine has been successful there are temporary vacancies in CHI due to maternity and backfill requirements for Paediatric Emergency Medicine posts. CHI is currently running campaigns to increase our Paediatric Radiologists and has solutions in place with our radiologists to ensure x-ray support is in place for services on 31 July 2019.

As the Urgent Care service hours increase, CHI will continue to liaise with all relevant stakeholders and with the general public on the hours, keeping them informed as the service hours expands. Over time the Urgent Care Centre plans to open 7 days a week, 08.00 to 20.00 to the public with patients in the centre treated and discharged before 24.00.

In addition to the urgent care centre and the outpatient clinics there is also a CSAU (Child Sexual Abuse Assessment and Therapy Unit) and HSE Dental Unit.

For more information https://childrenshealthireland.ie/connolly/

CHI at Connolly,
Connolly Hospital,
Mill Road,
Blanchardstown,
Dublin 15.
D15 RRN1

Phone: 01 640 7500