Final tenders for new hospice
The delivery of a new state-of-the-art hospice facility for counties Cavan and Monaghan moved a step closer this week.
Final tender documentation for the refurbishment and extension of St Christopher's Hospice on the outskirts of Cavan Town has been completed. The facility will provide end-of-life palliative care to the people of Cavan and Monaghan.
The tender documents were assessed and pre-tender suitability was carried out by the hospice's design team in conjunction with HSE Capital & Estates. This phase involved shortlisting potential contractors who will now be invited to tender for the multi-million euro project.
The successful delivery of the new refurbished and extended hospice will result in the provision of world-class, end-of-life care in a 16-bed specialist facility that will also encompass outpatient services.
It is also planned to accommodate the existing Cavan-Monaghan hospice homecare team on-site in phase two of the planned project.
Asked this week for a timeline on the delivery of the project and the estimated investment, Jim Lawlor, the chairman of the hospice, said: "We estimate completion will be end 2025/first quarter 2026. We will not know final cost until we hear from the successful contractor. Great care is being taken to minimise cost, while ensuring we will have a state-of-the-art hospice for Cavan and Monaghan."
This joint project between the St Christopher's Hospice and the HSE, which was granted planning permission last year, involves significant financial and asset contributions by both parties.
Significant levels of funding have also been raised in the community; while in 2021 Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly allocated €1M for the development.
The HSE National Service Plan 2022 prioritised the development of a new specialist palliative care inpatient Unit in Cavan, which will serve the populations of both Cavan and Monaghan.
Cavan and Monaghan are two of the last counties in Ireland that still do not have a fully integrated hospice service.
The delivery of the new facility will mean that patients can move seamlessly between hospice and home, according to their clinical needs, instead of having to travel to larger urban centres.
The extension to the Loreto Road building will allow for the provision of consultant rooms and additional accommodation. Additional car parking facilities and landscaping will also be provided.
Palliative care support beds in St Christopher's Hospice will be temporarily relocated during development.
The HSE has established a new facility called ‘Mountain View’ at Glencurran, Carrickaboy, as a new ‘Physical and Sensory Respite’ centre to facilitate de-congregation from the St Christopher’s Centre site. This is a HSE-run facility.
Mr Lalor welcomed the completion of the detailed design and the pre tender suitability assessment.
“This is a major landmark in bringing world-class specialist palliative care services to the communities of Cavan and Monaghan. The people of Cavan/Monaghan have made this happen. This will be an amazing service and will transform end-of-life care for patients and loved ones. ”
Mandy Doyle, Head of Service Primary Care, Community Healthcare Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo (CH CDLMS), added: “We are delighted to see the project reach this stage. For the first time we will be providing a 16-bed, state-of-the-art, inpatient Palliative Care Hospice to patients and their families from Cavan and Monaghan.
"The new unit will be closely integrated and co located with existing HSE community specialist palliative care teams. This will ensure a coordinated and joined up approach, that provides excellent care to patients requiring specialist palliative care and their families.”
Cavan golfing star, Solheim Cup winner and two-time Olympian Leona Maguire was last year announced as patron to St Christopher’s Hospice.