New primary care centre opened in Cork already easing pressure on hospitals
The facility was officially opened on Monday by the Tánaiste Micheál Martin, with help from Michael Kiely, 94, one of the centre’s oldest service users. Picture: Brian Lougheed
A new primary care centre (PCC) has opened in Cork providing a range of health services under one roof to a population of almost 72,000.
The purpose-built Ballincollig PCC is part of a network of centres which have been designed “to deliver the right care, in the right place, at the right time”.
It houses a range of health and social care professionals and will serve as a local base for physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, public health nursing, social work and home support.
It will serve an area including Ballincollig, Bishopstown and Macroom and will cater for about 260 appointments daily.
The building is home to three local GP practices — Eastgate Medical, Ovens Ballincollig Medical Centre and Esculap Medical Centre — as well as a regional eye care service, a community mental health team, a specialist neurodevelopmental ADHD pathway team, a CUMH outreach maternity clinic, smoking cessation experts, and a community breastfeeding support group led by a lactation consultant.
It is already easing pressure on hospitals in the area and reducing waiting lists for certain treatments.
Its integrated eye team, which includes doctors, optometrists, orthoptists, nurses and administration staff, carried out a successful waiting-list reduction blitz last year, with almost 1,600 children receiving an appointment.
The team's work has significantly reduced children’s waiting list times for ophthalmology appointments, the HSE said.
The CUMH outreach clinic provides antenatal care for low-risk pregnancies from 20 weeks, allowing pregnant women to attend check-ups, avoiding a city journey.
Staff at the PCC will also offer fall prevention education sessions, breastfeeding support, autism and food workshops for parents. It will also offer tummy time — an innovative programme for parents to encourage their babies to spend more time on their tummies, which is good for their development.
The facility was officially opened on Monday by the Tánaiste Micheál Martin, with help from Michael Kiely, 94, one of the centre’s oldest service users. Mr Martin said the state-of-the-art facility will help provide high-quality healthcare in the region.
“There are a myriad of services all under one roof in this impressive Primary Care Centre and a wide range of staff from many disciplines who provide vital integrated care that's close to home,” he said.
“Having facilities like this enables us to implement the principles of Sláintecare and deliver excellent, progressive, connected care."
HSE chief clinical officer, Colm Henry, said PCC’s allow the HSE to provide integrated and high-quality services closer to people’s homes. “This facility offers a comprehensive array of services, all conveniently housed under one roof,” he said.
Cork Kerry Community Healthcare head of primary care, Priscilla Lynch, said providing services in such a high-quality building facilitates the delivery of accessible, responsive, high-quality integrated services.
“Staff are enabled to provide better care, closer to people’s homes, with a key aim of reducing — as far as possible — the number of people admitted to hospital,” she said.
"In 2024, we plan to improve links from services in the building with other services including Chronic Disease Management, community welfare groups and our partners in acute and community hospitals. Our overall aim is to make the transition from hospital to the community smoother for people who use our services.”
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