Offaly group hits out at HSE over Midlands Hospice

The board of the Offaly Hospice Foundation has moved to publicly outline its lack of involvement in developing the Midlands Hospice at Arden Lane in Tullamore, saying it has "no control or governance over the current project, its spiralling budget, or its chosen location".

The Offaly Hospice Foundation (OHF) board took the decision in recent days to go public on a number of concerns which it has in relation to the current project.

In a statement to the Offaly Independent, the group said the decision to move the proposed regional hospice from an original site at Tullamore hospital to Arden Lane was taken "unilaterally" by the HSE, and that it had raised "serious, practical, and structural concerns" about the site's suitability.

"Instead of being engaged as a principal partner, we were completely marginalised by all stakeholders," the OHF said.

It also said a sum of €312,000 which was spent on architectural fees relating to the original site, and which the HSE has publicly committed to reimbursing to the OHF, still has not been repaid.

At the beginning of this year, planning approval was granted by Offaly County Council for the 20-bed Midlands Hospice at Arden Lane which is due to provide specialist care to families from across the Midlands region.

The HSE subsequently sought planning permission for a three-metre-tall sound barrier around the western and northern boundaries of the hospice site, an application that was approved by the council last month.

Five years ago, in September 2022, Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced €20m in capital funding for the specialist palliative care development for the Midlands, which the Government said at that stage was expected to be completed at the Tullamore hospital site by the end of 2025.

However, the Tullamore hospital site was later deprioritised.

“It was the best site available at the time but it came with some significant limitations. Since then two other sites (the Arden Lane site and at a proposed Wellwood private hospital) have become available for appraisal,” the then-Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, told local media in 2024.

The Arden Lane location was identified in September 2024 as the highest-scoring site via a process run by the HSE.

The cost of the planned hospice at Arden Lane is expected to be far higher than that 2022 Government allocation, with HSE official Brian O'Connell telling an Oireachtas committee in September of this year that costs had "increased considerably", and had climbed to "about €40 million".

It was indicated that the project would now be undergoing a design review in an effort to reduce the costs involved.

Referring to a doubling of the project's pricetag, from an initial €20 million to €40 million, the OHF said it believed this could largely be attributed to the site that was selected.

It said it previously highlighted concerns about issues such as zoning and access to the Arden Lane site, but that these points were not taken on board.

Stating that it remained "profoundly grateful to our donors", the Offaly hospice group said "the multi-year delays, site changes, and skyrocketing State budget" were attributable to the HSE and its regional arm, Community Health Organisation 8 (CHO8).

The Offaly Hospice Foundation said "there would quite simply never have been a Midlands hospice project" if not for the initiatives taken by its voluntary board and "the extraordinary generosity" of the local community.

"Back in 2019, the OHF got the ball rolling by securing a site from HSE Estates on the campus of Tullamore hospital," it said.

"For years, our supporters have shaken buckets in all types of weather, hosted coffee mornings, organised school fêtes, held concerts, and staged tractor runs. The list of grassroots community efforts is endless.

"The foundation for this hospice was built entirely on local public goodwill."

It said the Midlands Hospice project at Tullamore hospital had been ready to move to the planning application stage in December 2022, before the HSE moved away from the original site the following year.

Prior to that change, the hospice group said, it appeared the HSE had been "100% engaged" with the hospital site.

The local group's statement concluded by saying public donations to the Offaly Hospice Foundation "continue to do exactly what they were intended for: funding vital frontline, community-based palliative care services and patient comforts today."

"Supporters can continue to donate through our official channels or by visiting our office at the Offaly Hospice Shop on Main Street, Tullamore," the OHF said.

Speaking after a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery last week, local Fianna Fáil TD Tony McCormack criticised the HSE for not providing "clear answers" on the current status of the Midlands Hospice project.

The TD said the lack of clarity around the current status of the project highlighted a wider concern about accountability and delivery of publicly-funded infrastructure developments.

"This hospice is badly needed, not just for Tullamore or Offaly, but for families right across the Midlands," said Deputy McCormack.

"We have spent years working to get this project to construction stage, and now we find ourselves looking at another design exercise because of escalating costs.

"I fully understand the importance of getting value for taxpayers' money, but there is also a cost to delay. Every year we wait, construction costs can rise further, and families across the Midlands are left waiting for a facility they desperately need."

His follow Offaly Government TD, Fine Gael's John Clendennen, said this month that frustration was "mounting" in relation to the current delays to the hospice project.

“The Government is fully committed to delivering the Midlands Hospice, and that commitment was reiterated recently by the Tánaiste, Simon Harris. However, we now need to see that support translate into tangible progress on the ground," said Deputy Clendennen.

"The people of the Midlands deserve certainty, not another 12 months of waiting for answers. We need delivery, and we need it urgently."

The HSE was contacted for comment in relation to this story, but at the time of writing we had not received a response.