Exclusive Images From Inside The New National Maternity Hospital

TO CELEBRATE the Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Green party coalition government securing* the land for the National Maternity Hospital site at St Vincent’s Hospital, WWN has been treated to an exclusive look at the interiors of the proposed design for the State owned** hospital which comes with no catches***.

The state of the art ward here serves as an oasis of secular calm and care.

This is a room of reflection where patients and their family members as well as staff are urged to go and quietly forget the names of all the TDs that support this deal when reelection time rolls around.

The operating theatre designed after a complete lack of consultation with Irish women.

This consultation room provides a private space for women to discuss health procedures such as IVF, abortion and sterilisation with their doctors.

Some of the secular art which will adorn the walls and halls that aims to take worried minds off their woes.

Staff room – bare bones decor and simple layout make it the ideal place for staff to gather and talk freely about maternity care for women.

Wait a second, you’re not supposed to be down here. We told the builders not to excavate this deep!

*Technically not secured, it is a 299 lease which can be reviewed, changed or challenged when the completely independent trust set up by the Sisters of Charity feel like it.

**Well technically the Sisters of Charity transferred ownership of the land into a trust (the SVHG) which gets to appoint three directors to the hospital board, so really the taxpayer is paying €1bn to fund a public hospital not owned or operated by the State.

***Actually technically the SVHG can use the taxpayer hospital and land as collateral in future loans they may take out. Also the government is so confident that this is a secular hospital with no interference from religious institutions that it’s going review the running of the hospital and its procedures for the first five years. The government refused to define ‘clinically appropriate’ in clear terms in the deal leaving it open to interpretation and challenge.

P.S What could wrong ramming through a vote on a 300-year deal that was published two weeks ago after 5 years of behind closed doors negotiations.