NMH

6 Governance Rep ts 2020 | NMH Annual Rep t I have great pleasure in presenting the Annual Report of the Hospital for the twelve months ended 31 st December 2020. The report outlines the main activities of the Hospital during the year in which activity, in terms of mothers delivered, has decreased. During the year 7,263 women gave birth to 7,402 infants; a decrease of 7.7% on 2019. The Hospital's financial performance is set out in detail in the report of the Finance Committee. Similar to many organisations and individuals both in Ireland and worldwide, 2020 was a very challenging year for the NMH and our staff. As has been the case in the past, the staff in the NMH not only rose to the challenges but continued to show their spirit and dedication in developing work practices so that clinical care could be delivered to our patients in a safe environment for all concerned. In late February concerns began to be raised about the potential for COVID-19 spread, by early March the NMH COVID-19 Task Force was meeting seven days per week and by the end of March, with both innovation and hard work from the facilities team with the support of the midwifery staff, the NMH had constructed a "hospital within a hospital" which enabled us to cohort COVID-19 suspected and COVID-19 positive patients and manage them in an appropriate manner. Deputy Chairman's Rep t During the year we managed to acquire onsite testing and with the support of all staff, the COVID-19 pandemic has been well managed despite the site constraints. At year end we had 100 patients and 100 staff who had been diagnosed as COVID-19 positive. Despite the COVID-19 crisis the SVUH project continued to progress with a significant milestone being reached with the preparation and finalisation of the Business Case early in the year which was then submitted to the HSE in June. In addition, the first phase of the Operation Readiness Programme continued throughout the year and was signed-off at year-end. The initial phase of enabling works including the new Pharmacy and the extension of the car parks of the SVUH campus were nearing completion with handover by the end of year. In parallel with these workstreams, the discussions continued with the legal teams from both Hospitals and the HSE in relation to various legal documents such as the Lease and Operating License and by the year-end significant progress had been made and there only remained a few clauses for finalisation. The Board continues to have concerns in relation to certain provisions in the SA (Service Arrangement) with the HSE/IEHG. In the interim the Board continues to rely on the HSE letter recognising the independence of the Hospital and our right to independent operations outside of the HSE/IEHG SA. A number of these concerns and the need for a more collaborative and partnership approach were reflected in the report of the Independent Review Group and we look forward to this approach for future SA's which is to be initiated through the Voluntary Hospital Forum. As a Voluntary Hospital, the Hospital's Board fully recognise our obligations in relation to the provision of patient care. Funding of circa €60M is provided by the State whereby they contract with us to provide public services to patients and this is supplemented by the private income generated by the Hospital. The Hospital's Board is also very aware of the voluntary and independent nature of our role and the obligations in relation to the funds and incomes that are not provided by the State. The Board is fully committed to the provision of the highest level of care to all our patients and to ensuring that this is provided in an appropriate environment, both from a physical and a governance perspective, for both patients and staff. At the AGM in June a detailed update on the Project and particularly the legal arrangements was provided to the Governors with the support of Mason Hayes and Curran (MHC). The Executive Committee and MHC

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