Works on helipad for CUH set to begin later this year

Cork University Hospital is expected to begin works on a helipad later this year.

Construction of long-awaited helicopter pad is believed to begin in June 2023, according to a spokesperson the South/South West Hospital Group.

In a statement, the group said: “Following a number of delays since planning permission was granted, the HSE is pleased to confirm that by the end of March 2023, HSE Estates will issue a tender for the provision of an external provider to deliver the helipad at CUH. 

"It is hoped to commence construction by June 2023."

Planning for the air lifting facility in CUH have been in place since 2019, however Covid restrictions have delayed the project, despite the approval of almost €2 million in funding.

According to the South/South West Hospital Group statement, the project is expected to take six to nine months to complete, becoming operational in early 2024.

The helipad will be constructed on a staff car park on the north side of the hospital, with a new two-storey staff car park having been approved on the western side of the campus to replace the parking spaces lost.

Despite being one of the country’s largest hospitals and a level trauma centre for the south region, CUH has not had a helipad since 2003 as the current emergency department was built on the former landing zone.

Helicopters have since been landing with emergency cases at either Cork Airport or Bishopstown GAA pitch where patients then have to be transferred by ambulance to CUH.

The soon to be constructed CUH helipad has been specifically designed to cater for the Coast Guard's S92 aircraft and the Irish Air Corps' AW139.