The new £70m Maternity building at the Royal Victoria Hospital is due to be completed by the end of the year.
Health Minister Robin Swann visited the building in recent days, announcing that the project is nearing completion.
@RobinSwannMoH visited the new Maternity Hospital ahead of the planned building handover later this year.
“I want to commend the team in the Belfast Trust who have forged ahead with this project despite the challenging circumstances of the past two years.”https://t.co/BDrM79JdWk pic.twitter.com/LAGqULpV7H— Belfast Trust (@BelfastTrust) July 8, 2022
The development has been beset by delays since its inception, with costs vastly outstripping original estimates.
In 1996, it was estimated that a new maternity hospital would cost around £15million. Four years later, in January 2000, the Health Minister Bairbre De Brún expressed a desire to see the building completed in "five to six years"
The new Maternity Building was finally announced in 2010 at an estimated cost of £49 million.
In June 2020, it was revealed that Belfast Trust had written to the Department of Health to request extra cash after for unforeseen contingency expenses after works were due the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Trust has said the new building will now be handed handed over by the end of 2022 and the clinical commissioning process is expected to be completed by summer 2023.
After completing a visit of the site, Minister Swann said: “The new Maternity Hospital, co-located with the Critical Care building will help transform maternity services for women and their families. It will also contribute to the objectives of improving neonatal care in the Department’s 10 year Paediatric Strategy for Hospital and Community Services.
The Minister continued: “I recognise that this is a long awaited project but I was pleased to see that the building is nearing completion and that the Trust should be in a position to welcome women and babies by next summer.
“I want to also commend the team in the Belfast Trust who have forged ahead with this project despite the challenging circumstances of the past two years.”
Dr Cathy Jack, Chief Executive of the Belfast Trust, said: “We are very much looking forward to welcoming women and their partners to our new facilities next year. The hospital is designed to ensure every mother, child and partner receives the most appropriate care in the best environment across a full range of maternity and obstetrics service.
“Babies and families who may need additional clinical support after birth will be cared for by our exceptional team at the regional neonatology services for Northern Ireland based at the hospital. As the regional referral centre for foetal medicine, investigation, diagnosis and treatment of foetal anomalies the new hospital will allow families from right across Northern Ireland, whose babies need that specialised care to benefit from our state of the art facilities.
“Obstetrics, Maternity and Neonatology Services will continue to be delivered at the Royal MaternityHospital until next year.”
Heather Jackson, Interim Director Maternity Services, said: “From the very start, one of the most important things for us was that our staff and the women and families who use our services were involved at all stages and their feedback and input has been invaluable.
“Women give birth to around 5000 babies each year at our hospital and this new facility has been designed to provide a caring environment for every mother as they prepare to welcome their baby into the world.
“None of this would be happening without the dedication of our staff across a range of specialities bringing their skill sets together to deliver this. We are forever grateful for the work they continue to carry out to ensure we can open the building as soon as possible."
