Progress on primary care expansions across County Cavan

The HSE is still on track to make progress on plans to expand three primary care centres across the county.

The multi-million euro projects are being advanced under the HSE’s own capital development programme, and stand to benefit Cavan Town, Ballyconnell and Virginia.

The new Cavan Primary Care Children’s Services centre in Cavan Town is near completion and will officially open to the public in the third quarter of this year.

Labelbrook is behind the redevelopment of the former Melbourne Bakery site at 95 and 96 Main Street, the same company that was is currently leasing the former Jackson’s Garage to the HSE, now known as the Breffni Building, for use as a Women & Children’s Service Outpatients Department (OPD).

Both are to to be operated on a 10-year lease agreement.

The children’s services accommodation is nearing handover, with internal infrastructure including connection to the internet and other fittings awaited.

After the closure of the Melbourne in 2020, Labelbrook successfully applied to change the use of the property. The company was also given the green light to demolish “dilapidated” outbuildings and walls to the rear, to make the site accessible from both Farnham and Thomas Ashe Street.

Ballyconnell project

Detailed construction timelines for the Ballyconnell primary care development were agreed earlier this year. A design team has since been appointed and a “schedule of accommodation” is currently being reviewed, a spokesperson for the HSE confirmed to The Anglo-Celt.

The Ballyconnell building will provide both adult and child services, with two dental surgery facilities.

Virginia centre

It had meanwhile always been the intention for the HSE to lodge planning permission for the expansion of Virginia Primary Care Centre some time this year.

The spokesperson confirmed that the proposed centre will be delivered under an “operational lease mechanism”.

They added that site plans are at “developmental stage”.

The announcement regarding the countywide plan for primary care expansion was first revealed by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly at the opening of the Killeshandra Primary Care Centre in November of last year.

The Minister referenced the long delivery times for previous primary care centres, conceding “I don’t think there’s any defence [for such delays]”.

He continued: “There has been a lack of pace within the public sector broadly, certainly within the health service, in terms of capital projects for too long.”

But he stated that projects like those envisioned for Cavan are “happening quicker”, and he further expressed the open that the enhanced primary care services in the community would also ease pressure on Cavan General Hospital and its often embattled Emergency Department.

Hospital developments

There are several major extensions in the pipeline for the local hospital site, with 58 beds to be added within a three-storey extension at Cavan General, to include a new Emergency Department, Endoscopy Unit containing three procedure rooms and two for recovery. This involves the relocation of the existing ED department with planning permission approved in 2022. The project is currently at detailed design stage.

There is another new three-storey extension block planned for the northern side of the existing front hospital entrance to provide Oncology Unit (70% additional capacity).

This will also include upgrades to the existing Pharmacy and a new Aseptic Unit, and the relocation of the Physio department from the main inpatient assessment area to allow the space become a new eight-bed day ward/post theatre recovery area.

There are plans to extend operations into the Lisdarn Community Care building to add a state of the art 17,000 sq ft hub to the grounds incorporating 25 clinical rooms and a gymnasium on ground floor level.

The projects are being supported by a suite of upgrade/replacement works being implemented that will provide the necessary infrastructure to upgrade Cavan General from an existing acute medical to a Tier 3 operational facility. The planned investments were welcomed by Fianna Fáil deputy, Brendan Smith.

He said the "very positive decisions" made by the Minister for Health in the 2024 Health Capital Plan in relation to Cavan General Hospital and also other health care facilities throughout the county will stand to the region.

"There are major ongoing developments at Cavan General Hospital with the provision of new and upgraded facilities, which will be extremely important in the provision of services at the hospital.

These developments will enhance considerably acute hospital healthcare for the catchment area of Cavan General Hospital."

He added too that the major project at St Christopher’s Hospice will enable the provision of a 16-bed specialist palliative care unit and a palliative care hub will be of huge benefit to people across the region in need of end of life care.

The HSE is co-funding these developments with St Christopher’s Hospice.