National Children's Hospital Ireland (NCHI) Early Access – High-Level Overview

22 December 2025 – 3 March 2026

On 22nd December 2025, the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, was joined by Lucy Nugent, Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Health Ireland (CHI); Dr Yvonne Traynor, Chair of the CHI Board; Julia Lewis, CHI Transformation Director; and Bernard Gloster, Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive (HSE), to mark early access to Level 6 of the National Children's Hospital Ireland.

This was followed by further partial early access to the Lower Ground floor on 25th February 2026.

This signals the transition of CHI teams into a critical and highly active phase of operational commissioning, focused on ensuring readiness for the safe delivery of day one services.

What is Operational Commissioning?

Operational commissioning is the structured and comprehensive process that ensures the hospital is fully prepared to operate safely, efficiently, and effectively prior to opening to patients.

It bridges the period between construction completion and “go-live,” with emphasis placed not only on the physical building but on the people, systems, processes, equipment, and services required to ensure safe services when the hospital is opened.

Key Components of Operational Commissioning

Operational commissioning encompasses:

• Governance and integrated planning
• Workforce readiness and mobilisation
• Clinical and operational workflow validation
• Equipment installation and facilities readiness
• Digital and ICT systems implementation
• Safety, quality, and regulatory compliance
• Testing, simulation, and scenario planning
• Logistics and support service coordination
• Go-live planning and transition management

Substantive Completion

The current substantive completion date for handover of the National Children’s Hospital Ireland to Children’s Health Ireland remains 30th April 2026, as advised by the builder

MRI Installation

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners were successfully installed and commissioned to full magnetic power between 26th January and 20th February 2026.

This is a major technical and clinical milestone, reflecting significant progress toward operational readiness and the future delivery of advanced diagnostic services.

Progress To Date: (22nd December 2025 – 03rd March 2026)

The main activity during the Additional Early Access period has been equipping, primarily on Level 6 which we took access to on 22nd December 2025.

Since the 22nd December 2025 we have deployed the following to Level 6:

Approximately 939 pieces of EHR-dependent equipment have been installed; this figure is made up of 360 pieces of medical equipment and 579 pieces of ICT equipment. The EHR equipment count in included in the totals provided above for medical and ICT equipment

CHI took access to L0 (lower-ground level) on 25th February 2026, and this week (from 2nd March 2026) we expect to install a further 578 pieces of laboratory equipment and 380 pieces of ICT equipment.