€1m grant brings hospice plan closer to reality

Eilís Ryan

An allocation of €1m has been announced this week towards the cost of provision of a hospice to serve the needs of the four midland counties.

The allocation is being seen as only a first step in bringing the hospice to fruition: it is understood that hospice committees in the four counties have been told the estimate for provision of the facility is €16m.

A site adjacent to Tullamore hospital has been earmarked for the Midlands Regional Hospice and architect plans for a 16-bed unit have been commissioned by the Offaly Hospice movement and presented to the HSE.

“The plans include all elements of an updated 2021 design brief put together by HSE Estates and our palliative care consultants, Dr Michael Cushen and Dr Pauline Kane,” said Mary Murphy of the Offaly Hospice Foundation this week, adding that the committee can now progress the project to detailed planning and planning application stages. While the Offaly Hospice Foundation has funded the architectural plans, all hospice committees in the area will be part of the funding and planning process.

“We should always keep in mind the fact that the regional hospice will serve four counties and also patients from north Tipperary and east Galway, about 300,000 people. This is a very important project for all of us,” said Ms Murphy.

The hospice has been welcomed by the North Westmeath Hospice committee and by local political figures.

“It’s good news,” said Veronica Larkin of the North Westmeath Hospice committee. “We have to get our heads around the fact that there cannot be a physical hospice in every area and the professionals in the health service have chosen the site in Tullamore as the place that will best serve the region,” she said.

“While we’d all like to have a hospice in all our towns, we also have to be realistic,” she said, stressing that the efforts and support levels which have made at-home hospice care available in this area for so long will need to continue.

John Shaw, chairman of the North Westmeath Hospice, said the allocation represented “a significant step in addressing the historical under resourcing of palliative care in the midlands area”.

He cautioned, however: “The North Westmeath Hospice accept that an in-patient unit in Tullamore will benefit the greater midlands area but they have repeatedly expressed their concern that such an in-patient unit is only part of the solution, and it is critical that the existing community service which is so well supported by the people of Westmeath continues to be adequately resourced.”

Peter Burke, TD, Minister of State for Planning and Local Government, said he both welcomed the allocation and acknowledged the “huge work” of the volunteer network of the hospice organisations.

“And I think it’s important that we make clear, in terms of government, that we are also supporting the viability of our local hospice into the future as part of this new model. I think the government need to be clear on that, to ensure that we have a joined up approach with this new model in Tullamore.”

The Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy, TD, said that he and Deputy Barry Cowen had arranged a meeting with the Tullamore hospital management team and Health minister Stephen Donnelly a number of months ago to stress the urgency of the project.

“A lot of work has to be done still, till we get to the stage where patients will actually be benefiting from a new state of the art purpose-built dedicated hospital service for the midlands,” he said.

The Hooves 4 Hospice fundraising project has also welcomed the allocation.

Project chairperson, Pat Lalor, stated that Minister Donnelly will be remembered as the politician who broke the deadlock that, up until now, has prevented the proposed Midland Regional Hospice to move to the important next stage of becoming a live project.

“We can now, at long last, look forward to a day in the not too distant future when the people of the Midlands will have their inpatient and outreach palliative care needs met locally,” he said.