Hospice gets €2.1m to double capacity with 20 more beds

A two-year funding delay for 20 vital Cork hospice care beds is set to end this autumn — meaning terminally-ill people will get the care they need.

Marymount Hospice has confirmed it is set to receive €2.1m from the HSE in the coming months, which will be used to almost double capacity at the end-of-life centre.

As part of a major upgrade of the facility, in Sept 2011, Marymount saw its bed numbers increase from 24 to 44, in line with decade-old calls to improve end-of-life care services.

However, despite the valuable measure, due to the severe budgetary constraints on the health service, no funding was available to employ the staff to run the new beds — meaning they were left idle.

After repeated concerns were raised over the delay, the HSE South’s annual report for this year promised to finally fund the service.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Marymount chief executive Kevin O’Dwyer said this step — which will include the provision of 36 new doctor, consultant and staff nurse positions — is set to take place by this autumn: “The HSE South’s service plan has assured us that the money to open those beds will be available.

“We need these beds to be consistent with the national policy from 2002, which said we needed up to 44 beds... That money is available as we speak.

“There are recruiting issues in terms of interviews and appointments and we will be opening the beds over a phased basis, but the money is there.”

The situation emerged after an opposition councillor hit out at the long-standing delay in making badly needed and promised hospice beds promised available to patients.

Dublin-based Fianna Fáil councillor David McGuinness said there is a “national scandal” taking place because one in every five hospice beds in Ireland are currently lying idle.

He said in addition to the Marymount delay, St Francis in Dublin is unable to use 24 beds for terminally-ill patients with cancer, motor neurone disease and AIDS because of funding problems.

Citing the charitable fundraising efforts to address the problem — which included a massive €460,000 raised by Cork’s 96FM’s radiothon in one day for Marymount and other hospital services in Cork — Mr McGuinness said: “The ordinary people have put huge effort into fundraising with new events every month but it’s not being matched by Government. It’s really depressing – clearly this is not a priority for Government.”

An Irish Hospice Foundation spokesperson said Ireland is currently suffering from “a significant staff and hospice bed deficit”, with just 153 of the units available in Ireland compared to the 450 recommended since 2001.

“In Cork and Blanchardstown [St Francis], colossal charitable efforts have gone into building new facilities to provide over 40 beds. Yet not one of these beds has ever had a patient,” she said.