Speaking at the launch of the hospital's Statement of Intent document, Sean Sheehan said the hospital board was committed to Temple Street in the years before the new hospital is built and will not be "cutting back" in preparation for the merger.
“We will be continuing to invest in this hospital to ensure the best care for patients between now and hopefully the completion of the hospital in 2018,” he said.
The hospital, which is more than 140 years old, is currently undergoing some refurbishment. St Joseph's Ward, known as the Top Flat, has been emptied of patients to allow for the renovation work at a cost of just under €2 million.
Priorities
The document outlines the priorities of the hospital over the next few years including focussing on child-centred care, improvement in the quality of patient care and a move away from the traditional "hierarchical" system to a "network" system. Actions planned include to "proactively inform the design of a new national paediatric model of care" and "ensure it becomes the adopted model for the new national paediatric hospital".
Model of care
The hospital also plans to contribute to "transforming the standard of emergency paediatric care across the country".
Mr Sheehan said he hoped the document would help feed into what would be the model of care for the new hospital.
Mona Baker, chief executive, said Temple Street was modelling a new form of leadership for a more contemporary modern health service. This would empower staff, she said.
Dr Nick Eustace, consultant paediatric anaesthetist and a member of the hospital's executive, said Temple Street had a collegiality that should continue in the move to the new hospital.
He said the document was a statement of “how we are in Temple Street, how we work and what our priorities are”.
“This works in Temple Street and we are very proud of it and we want this to remain when we move to the new hospital,” Dr Eustace said.
