Timeline for new hospice expected by year end

The long-running campaign to provide a dedicated Hospice for the Midlands was raised in the Seanad this week, with Minister Mary Butler assuring campaigners that “continuing progress” is being made at Government level for the provision of the end of life service on a co-located site on the grounds of the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore.

The Minister, who has responsibility for Mental Health and Older People, said "a timeline and cost breakdown" for the development of a hospice in the Midlands will be completed by the end of this year, and that architectural plans and a feasibility study of the site at Tullamore Hospital "are now complete".

The issue was raised by Kildare-based Fianna Fail Senator, Fiona O’Loughlin, who said a Midlands Hospice is a service that is “hugely, hugely needed” and described the Midlands as being “a black spot” for the provision of palliative care. “The Hospice Movement has given great dignity, respect and comfort to so many families and it is simply unacceptable that any part of the country should be a black spot when it comes to end-of-life care,” said Senator O’Loughlin, who called for “urgent action and intervention.”

Minister Butler strongly reiterated the commitment of the Government to providing “equitable access” to end-of-life services in all regions of the country. She added that the Department of Health is “actively engaging with the HSE” to progress plans for the development of Hospices planned for Drogheda, Cavan and the Midlands, and said it is recognised that the Midlands is “one of the three remaining regions without this specialist palliative care inpatient service in place.”

While she pointed out that the HSE had recently engaged with five hospice groups in the area, including the Irish Hospice Foundation and Hooves 4 Hospice, Minister Butler said the development would “require collective working” towards the provision of a hospice in the Midlands.