HSE pledges to set up surgical hubs in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Dublin, and Galway by end of 2026

The HSE's service plan for next year also commits to the new National Children’s Hospital being completed, though it does not provide a date within the year.

The HSE service plan for next year pledges five surgical hubs in Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Galway, and North Dublin will open by the end of 2026.

It also commits to making planning permission applications next year for elective hospitals in Glanmire, Co Cork, and Galway.

The plan sets out how a budget of €29bn will be spent nationally, with regional breakdowns yet to come from each area. It includes a 20% increase on disability spending.

It also commits to the new National Children’s Hospital being completed, though it does not provide a date within the year.

Surgical hubs were announced first in December 2022, and were expected to open within 18 months, but so far only one is taking patients.

“Surgical hubs will deliver 10,500 new and additional day case procedures, and 4,600 new and additional OPD appointments in 2026,” the HSE said.

In addition to opening five hubs, it plans to complete the initial design stage for hubs in Sligo and Letterkenny.

The elective hospitals are expected to take non-trauma care out of CUH and Galway hospitals. The Department of Health previously said it expects these to be at “shovel-ready” stage by 2030.  The HSE intends to "prepare and submit" the planning permission applications next year. 

It also plans to set up a new national ambulance service tertiary education centre in Cork.

'Severe backlogs'

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill welcomed the plan.

“In some areas, patients are seen quickly; in others, access is slower. Meanwhile, services such as community therapies face severe backlogs — even in health regions that perform well in other areas," she said.

"Our goal is that, wherever you live in Ireland, you should have timely access to high-quality care,” she said.

Minister for children, disability, and equality Norma Foley welcomed plans to expand disability care. 

She said funding will help “strengthen sustainability, expand capacity, and embed a rights-based, person-centred approach”.

The HSE's plan also commits to a long-discussed project to offer children a single point of access to disability, mental health, and primary care services.

Nursing homes

On nursing homes, the plan says a new build in Midleton — a public-private partnership between the HSE and Sisk/Equitix — is due to open by March 2026. 

It does not refer to six other homes in this deal, including that in Killarney.

The minister of state for older people and housing, Kieran O’Donnell, said funding will see more “older people receive the right care in the right place at the right time”.

The plans supports an increase in home support hours to 26.7m nationally.

“Alongside this target, action will also be taken to reduce the home support waiting list,” he said.

Some 313 day centres will be funded to support 15,800 older people, with funding also made available for more than 3.3m meals on wheels deliveries.

Mental health services will be funded for 300 extra posts, minister of state for mental health Mary Butler said.

“New specialist nursing teams will be deployed out-of-hours in model four hospital emergency departments to support people presenting in a crisis,” she said.

Three new mental health cafes offering out-of-hours support will open, including one in Kerry.