Hospital expansion gets go-ahead

The Government is poised to sanction the development of a €5m expansion at a large general hospital in Cork.

A total of €1.5m has been set aside for the capital spend at Mallow Hospital in North Cork.

However, a further €3.5m has now been secured to kit out an endoscopy suite and a medical assessment unit.

Tenders for the construction of the unit are expected to be issued soon.

It will be Mallow Hospital’s first major step towards becoming a regional hub for elective surgery and higher-level medical interventions.

The news has been hailed as a major vote of confidence in a hospital which was once earmarked for downgrading.

Mallow-based junior minister Seán Sherlock said the investment will secure the hospital’s future.

“For over 40 years, there has been a battle to keep Mallow Hospital open,” Mr Sherlock said.

“Over the last 12 months, I have worked with local consultants, surgeons, and GPs in Mallow, the HSE, and with the Department of Health, to carve out a new role for Mallow, and this development will secure its future.”

The vision for Mallow Hospital is that certain surgical procedures will be ‘spun out’ of the Cork City group of hospitals to the North Cork facility, easing pressure on the city hospitals.

But Mr Sherlock said in order for this to work efficiently, the Cork City group of hospitals will have to buy into a system where more elective surgery can take place in radial hospitals such as Mallow.

“I think there is a willingness to proceed along those lines,” Mr Sherlock said.

It is understood the hospital’s campaigners managed to secure the funding by arguing that, historically, Mallow was under-funded in comparison to other hospitals in the region.