Cork hospital to get 24 new beds early in 2026, HSE boss confirms

Bernard Gloster also criticised therapists with regard to taking on trainees at today's Oireachtas Health Committee meeting

Bernard Gloster said the new beds at Mallow General Hospital will make an 'enormous difference'. File picture: Dan Linehan

More than 20 new beds will be opened in Mallow General Hospital early in the new year, the HSE chief executive has confirmed, which he said will make an “enormous difference”.

Bernard Gloster told the Oireachtas Health Committee he had visited Cork on Tuesday for talks with local officials, and he was “absolutely delighted” to be able to say the 24 beds would be opened, following questioning from Fine Gael’s Colm Burke.

“The next phase of the beds in Mallow will open in quarter one of next year,” he said. “We had a long conversation with the region about the priority use of those beds to aid the overall system." 

Separately, Mr Gloster, who is set to step down from his role in early March 2026, hit out at therapists with regard to taking on trainees, while also admitting he’s “not proud” of the HSE’s record in children’s services, including disability and mental health.

The committee met with officials from the HSE and Department of Health on long-term planning in the health service.

Mr Gloster outlined that next year's health budget stands at €25.22bn, along with a capital allowance of €1.54bn. This is an increase of €1.5bn from the previous year.

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This was questioned by Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane, who asked how much of the increase to the health budget from the previous year was funding for new staffing and services, and how much was for existing standards of service.

“If you wanted to come up with a simple figure of the amount of money that's new, there are 3,300 additional whole-time equivalent [staff],” Mr Gloster said. “If you apply a median factor of 75,000 to each of those, that's all new money.” 

Mr Cullinane said that staffing increases were not the only element of extra funding and said it was “not unreasonable” for the committee to try to establish how much was new across all services.

Fianna Fáil’s Padraig O’Sullivan asked the HSE boss about occupational therapists and speech and language therapists in training who are unable to get placements here and are travelling abroad as a result.

Mr Gloster admitted his response “may well appear unfair” to some of his own people, but he would say it anyway.

“We have exponentially increased the number of therapists working for us,” he said. “They're all professionally trained, and after a certain period of time, they have the capability to supervise a student. 

I don't see as big an obstacle to them taking students as they might do.

“I can’t ask Government to increase the supply places if I then don’t provide the clinical training placements for those students.” 

Separately, on the issue of elective hospitals in Cork, the committee heard that road access to proposed sites from the M8 is the single biggest issue at the moment, ahead of an application for planning permission.

The HSE’s national director head of strategic health infrastructure and capital delivery, Brian O’Connell, said they are working with the county council to see if there’s a solution.

“We’re teasing through the requirements to ensure that a successful planning permission will be achieved," he said.