HSE chief confirms North Cork hospital to get an additional 24 beds 

HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster confirmed at a recent meeting of the Oireachtas health committee that an extra 24 beds will open at Mallow General Hospital next year.

Fine Gael TD Colm Burke said: “We did build a new unit there with four storeys, but only two floors are occupied, the second and third floor, while the ground and first floor are still empty.”

Mr Gloster told Mr Burke that the next phase of the new unit will open in the first quarter of 2026, with 24 beds on the first floor.

“They will be staffed, and they will make an enormous difference,” said Mr Gloster.

Mr Burke told The Echo this is good news for Mallow and the wider Cork region, given that the hospital is often used to relieve capacity at Cork University Hospital (CUH).

“Some people are transferred from CUH to Mallow because while they require hospital care, they don’t require intensive care,” said Mr Burke.

“Mallow Hospital has very good staff who are well able to provide care that people need."

He welcomed that the new beds will come on stream very soon, and said that he hopes a further 24 beds will be opened in the ground floor unit at the end of 2026.