A new €58 million palliative care centre and hospital was officially opened yesterday in Curraheen, Cork, following the transfer of patients from the facility’s previous home on the city’s northside at a site that was in operation for more than 100 years.
Kevin O’Dwyer, chief executive of St Patrick’s/Marymount, said emotions ran high as 47 residents and patients moved from the facility on Wellington Road to the new building.
The new facility is set on a 12-acre site in Curraheen and replaces the 63-bed St Patrick’s Hospital and 24-bed Marymount Hospice in St Luke’s. It has an additional 20 beds bringing to 44 the number of hospice beds. The number of beds for elderly respite care remains at 63.
The new hospice has en suite single rooms with facilities for relatives to stay overnight. The HSE is contributing €17.5 million and Chuck Feeney’s Atlantic Philanthropies charity is providing €10 million. The remaining funding and much of the running costs must come from the hospital’s own fundraising efforts. For information about fundraising events, e-mail thefriends@stpatricksmarymount.ie