Green light for Cork University Hospital emergency department extension

THE way has been cleared for a significant extension to the emergency department at Cork University Hospital (CUH) to proceed after Cork City Council’s decision to approve the plans has been upheld by An Bord Pleanála.

In April, the Health Service Executive-South lodged a planning application for the construction of a two-storey extension to the existing accident and emergency (A&E) department and the provision of a new plant room on the roof of the proposed extension.

The application said the development would also consist of alterations to the set down car parking area serving the Glandore Centre, the installation of a dedicated underground decontamination waste holding tank and other ancillary development works.

The development, according to a cover letter supporting the application, would provide for the delivery of a much-needed additional CT scanner and a decontamination room to serve the existing A&E department at CUH.

The expansion would not see any increase in staff numbers at the emergency department, it said.

Outlining the need for the extension, the cover letter stated that there is currently no dedicated decontamination room within CUH “which does not comply with international best practice for a Trauma Centre”.

“This room is required as a critical piece of infrastructure to treat patients who have been exposed to certain chemicals or radiation in the unlikely event of this occurring.

“These substances will be cleaned off the patients in a dedicated room by the hospital staff away from the public to ensure that there is no impact on the safety of any other patients awaiting care,” the cover letter continued.

The proposed new CT scanner, it added, would be used solely to treat patients of the emergency department, “as the current CT scanner is being shared between multiple departments within the hospital which is slowing down the ability of the staff to treat those presenting to the accident and emergency department”.

Planners in Cork City Council approved the proposed development in May, subject to nine conditions, however, a third-party appeal was subsequently lodged with An Bord Pleanála.

The appeal, made by two residents living on Wilton Rd, asserted that the proposed development would have a number of negative implications, including increased car parking congestion.

Also among their concerns, the appellants argued that the proposed development would negatively impact their property, “particularly in respect of loss of light, proximity, scale and size”.

However, An Bord Pleanála has now ruled that the proposed development can proceed.

The planning board said it considered that, subject to compliance with conditions it has attached, “the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity, would not be prejudicial to public health or the environment, would generally be acceptable in terms of design and traffic safety, and would, therefore, be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.

There are four routine conditions attached to An Bord Pleanála’s approval of the development.