Harney opens new Cork A&E

Tánaiste and Health Minister, Mary Harney, is in Cork today to officially open the new €10.8m Accident and Emergency department at Cork University Hospital.

Emergency treatment has been provided to more than 2,200 patients in the first three weeks since the unit opened its doors to the public on April 18.

CUH Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Dr Stephen Cusack, said: “The new emergency department is state-of-the-art and is proving to be a much better experience for patients and staff. It is a landmark in emergency medicine in Ireland,” he said.

The new facility is capable of dealing with 50,000 emergency patients a year, plus an additional 12,000 opthalmic (eye) patients and has replaced the existing emergency department - which treated 42,000 people.

General Manager of CUH, Mr. Tony McNamara, said the new emergency department is more than twice the size of the existing one and is part of the €200m expansion programme underway at Cork University Hospital.