Statement from the Minister for Health on the Rotunda Hospital

At today’s meeting between the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, officials from the Department of Health, the Rotunda Hospital and the Health Service Executive (HSE), it was agreed that a new planning application will be submitted by the Rotunda. The application will include two additional elements:

1. Critical care capacity for women expanding on the earlier application which was focused solely on infants
2. An enhanced Sexual Assault Treatment Unit

The intention is to augment the already well-established critical care pathways between the Rotunda Hospital and the Mater Hospital by having new critical care capacity on site at the Rotunda. It is also important to recognise the site as an integral part of Dublin City Centre, specifically for women, in all their needs.

Enhancing critical care facilities on the Rotunda site will differentiate the Rotunda Hospital from the co-location policy because the full benefits of co-location can be achieved by the close proximity, the already established pathways to the Mater and the further strengthening with additional components of the application. The co-location policy is based on patient safety and that is why the Government and the Minister are spending significant investment in building a new maternity hospital adjacent to Vincent’s Hospital recognising the distance between them for any necessary transfers. However, the proximity of the Rotunda to the Mater enables the existing safe care pathways, this will now be further augmented by the critical care developments at the Rotunda site.

The intention of this Minister is to focus on the future of the Rotunda on the current site, it is open to a future Government to take a different approach. The Minister has taken this decision following engagement with the Clinical Leadership team for the region which includes Connolly Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, Mater Misericordiae Hospital and Rotunda Hospital.

Following the meeting, Regional Clinical Director for the Dublin and North East Region, Dr. Eamon Dolan, said:

“We have seen the reality of existing clinical pathways with patients from the Rotunda being brought to the Mater University Hospital for time sensitive treatment thanks to the blue light corridor. The nature of these safe clinical pathways are the embodiment of the principles of co-location. As Clinical Director for the region, I am enthused by and committed to the future plans for the Rotunda hospital.”

Professor Sean Daly, Master of the Rotunda, said:

“I am very grateful to the Minister for her continued support of the Rotunda Hospital. The plans we discussed today will not only significantly improve the critical care infrastructure at the Rotunda but will also make it an enhanced centre of care for families at the heart of our city. This is a pragmatic approach to the future of the site and to the future of care for the women and babies.”

Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, said:

“Our meeting today focussed on the next steps for the provision of modern maternity care at the Rotunda. Working collaboratively, and with the support of Government, the Master will bring forward a new enhanced planning application for critical care capacity for women and babies at the Rotunda as well as plans for a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit. I am grateful to the Master for his ongoing engagement with me and with officials in my Department. We will continue to work together to deliver appropriate critical care, as quickly as possible.”

International and national standards emphasise that maternity services must be organised so that women who need higher‑level acute or critical care can access it rapidly and reliably, with clear protocols for escalation and transfer. That principle, safe stabilisation and assured access to adult acute services, underpins this Government’s co‑location policy and how it is applied in practice.

The Rotunda’s expansion, together with continued strengthened collaboration with the Mater, represents the most practical and immediate pathway to deliver that priority today, while broader system reforms in maternity services continue to advance in line with Government policy.