Getting ready for our new Children's Hospital
Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) is preparing for a major move — the opening of the new national children’s hospital.
Getting ready for our new Children's Hospital
This is a once-in-a-generation change, and we’re working hard to make sure everything is safe, ready, and right for patients, families, and staff. As the building nears completion, a team—called the Commissioning Team—is leading the preparations to ensure the hospital is fully ready to welcome children, young people, and families.
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Julia Lewis, CHI Transformation Director
As Transformation Director, Julia Lewis plays a central role in keeping the programme moving.
“I attend a lot of internal and external meetings—helping to move decisions forward and making sure we’re representing CHI’s interests every step of the way. That includes working with national partners like the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board and making sure that the building progress lines up with our plans for service delivery.”
Julia also spends time learning from international best practices to make sure CHI’s transition is as smooth and safe as possible.
“We’re not starting from scratch—we’re learning from hospitals around the world that have gone through similar moves. That helps us avoid common pitfalls and focus on what works.”
“My days are very varied, and that’s because the needs of the transformation programme change all the time. Every day, my focus is on making sure we stay on track and that staff have everything they need to move forward,” says Julia.
What is “Commissioning”?
Commissioning is the process of getting a new hospital ready to safely care for patients. It’s a recognised international approach that includes setting up services, training staff, testing equipment, and ensuring everything works as it should—before the hospital opens its doors. “We’re not just opening a building. We’re creating a place where children and families will receive care for years to come. That takes careful planning, testing, and training across every department,” Julia explains.
Stages of Commissioning
Commissioning happens in four phases. Phase 1: Planning is complete, and right now, we’re finishing Phase 2: Pre-Commissioning.
Phase 2: Pre-Commissioning
This is the planning and preparation stage. It includes designing how services will work in the new hospital, developing new policies, and testing new or improved ways of delivering care.
Phase 3: Operational Commissioning
This starts when the hospital building is officially handed over to CHI from the building contractor. From there, we’ll begin setting up the hospital—bringing in equipment, checking safety systems, and training thousands of staff to use new tools and processes.
“We’re working side by side with our clinical and operational teams to make sure that everyone is familiar with the space, understands the new systems, and is ready to care for patients in a completely new environment,” says Julia.
Phase 4: Stabilisation
This phase begins when the hospital opens. Patients and staff will move over, and teams will focus on making sure new systems and ways of working are running smoothly.
Meanwhile, the older hospitals will begin to wind down.
Behind the scenes
A team of over 120 people are leading the hospital move, many of whom come from existing CHI roles and bring deep knowledge of how current services work. Others have specialised expertise from hospital openings around the world. They’re working together to make sure the new hospital is ready from every angle—clinical, technical, operational, and logistical.
“The team has been divided into specific workstreams—from equipment planning to policy writing to staff training. It’s a massive team effort, and I’m proud of the way people across CHI are coming together,” Julia says.
What happens when CHI gets the keys?
Once CHI officially takes over the new hospital building, a detailed plan kicks into action. This includes:
- Ensuring safety and security on site.
- Cleaning and protecting the interior.
- Moving in and testing thousands of pieces of equipment.
- Training over 5,000 staff on new systems and spaces.
- Running hospital-wide simulations to practice real-life scenarios.
“There’s a huge amount of technical and operational work that needs to happen before we can welcome our first patients—but it’s all aimed at one thing: making sure we open safely and confidently,” Julia says.
What’s happening today?
Even before we move into our new hospital, a lot of preparation is already underway:
- New models for how each department will work have been designed.
- Staff are co-creating plans and policies for patient care.
- Special training programmes—called Eolas—are being developed to support staff in learning new systems and workflows.
- CHI’s digital systems, including the Electronic Health Record, are being integrated with equipment across the building.
- Major pieces of artwork have been installed to help the hospital feel warm and welcoming.
- Staff and partners are already visiting the hospital—nearly 4,000 people have had a look inside/
“This isn’t just a project happening behind closed doors. We’ve had incredible engagement from staff, children, and families across CHI. That sense of ownership and excitement is what makes this programme so special,” Julia shares.