Progress on new 90-bed facility at Cork University Hospital is welcomed

Construction of a new 90-inpatient-bed facility at Cork University Hospital (CUH) will take approximately three years, with a preliminary business case for the project expected by the end of this month.

This is according to a spokesperson for the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) South West branch, who at the latest HSE South West Regional Health Forum stated that design work and site investigations for the facility are “currently in progress”.

In response to a motion put forward by Social Democrats councillor for the Bandon-Kinsale area, Ann Bambury, the spokesperson said the HSE expects to complete the Strategic Assessment Report (SAR) and Preliminary Business Case (PBC) for the project “by the end of May”.

“It is progressing [but] given the scale of this project, there are quite a few steps we need to go through,” the spokesperson said.

“Following completion, the documents will be submitted for approval via the capital approvals process.

“We are hoping it will go to the board [for approval] by July, [and] once approval is secured to proceed to the next stage, a planning application will be lodged with Cork City Council.

“Once we get planning, we intend to award an enabling contract to start the site works ahead of the main contract,” they added.

“That will also go through the approvals process, and once that’s approved, we can go to tender, and once the tenders are returned and assessed, we will put in a final business case with the tender costs, and that will go into next year.

“It’s a substantial size of a block, it is complex, but our intention is to have an enabling works contract on-site by year end.

“[The main] construction programme [will then take] approximately three years.”

Speaking to The Echo, Ms Bambury said she is “glad to see this project is moving forward”.

“With our growing population, and especially our ageing population, 90 new inpatient beds are critical,” said Ms Bambury.

“To have this extension delivered as part of the existing fabric of CUH is very important.

“Having spoken to a number of consultants in CUH, they have outlined clearly that this project needs to be expedited as quickly as possible. The provision of public bed capacity is crucial, particularly at a time when so many people are being pushed into private healthcare due to pressures within the public system.”

This project comes following another application for a new 21-inpatient-bed ward at CUH, which was lodged with the local authority in November.

This facility was given the green-light at the end of March and will be located on the site of an existing medical records storage building on the Bishopstown Road.

The approved plans provide for the partial demolition of the existing building, and for the construction of an extension and internal alterations to facilitate the ward’s integration with the existing hospital, as well as two new pedestrian crossings.