Naming of new National Children’s Hospital remains on hold

A spokesperson for the Children’s Hospital Group said that it is still awaiting a decision on the matter before it can move ahead with the deployment of the chosen new name, Phoenix Children’s Health.

Last October at an event at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister Harris formally announced the new name, with Minister Harris commenting “having a name — Phoenix Children’s Health — now makes the project even more real and meaningful… ”

However, the chosen name garnered mixed reactions among the public and was rejected by the medical boards of the three existing children’s hospitals, while in December it was reported that the Minister had received correspondence from the Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona, US, raising concerns that the name would cause confusion about the two hospitals.

“We are aware that the Minister has received correspondence from the Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona and that the Department will be responding directly to them,” a spokesperson for the Children’s Hospital Group told the <strong><em>Medical Independent</em></strong> last week.

“We understand that the Minister is reflecting on the issues raised and the varied views expressed in relation to the naming of the new children&rsquo;s hospital and we are awaiting his decision on this matter.”

Existing hoardings and signage bearing the NCH title at the site of St James’s Hospital, Dublin, remain in place.

Phoenix Children’s Health was selected as the name for the NCH following a nine-month “comprehensive and inclusive process involving staff of the three children’s hospitals, the paediatric units of the regional hospitals and the Children’s Hospital Group. Children from the Youth Advisory Council (YAC), as well as current and former users of acute paediatric services and their families…” according to a Children’s Hospital Group statement in October 2017, which revealed that over 300 name suggestions were made.