Battle for vital cystic fibrosis ward finally draws to a close

A charity that paid for an essential piece of infrastructure for cystic fibrosis patients at CUH has been battling for months to get it open. As RTÉ’s ‘Prime Time’ trains its sights on the story, could the epic saga be over, asks Catherine Shanahan

THE saga of the 20-bed adult respiratory ward at Cork University Hospital (CUH), paid for by a charity, but still closed to the patients who helped fund it, is set to feature tonight in an RTÉ Prime Time examination of how nurse staffing shortages are affecting vital hospital services.

The story has featured repeatedly in these pages over the past few years, reaching a particular low last month when 27-year-old Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patient Kim Doheny, who travelled from Waterford to CUH for treatment, was sent home because there were no beds available.