The Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) has today (1st March) expressed delight with the significant developments that have been announced for palliative care services across the HSE South.
The Regional Service Plan 2013 of HSE South includes the decision to progress a number of palliative care initiatives such as:
- opening, on a phase basis, the 20 additional beds in Marymount Hospice in Cork
- Progressing to design stage the regional specialist inpatient and day service in palliative medicine in Waterford
- Starting the development of the satellite inpatient unit in palliative medicine at Kerry General Hospital
Sharon Foley, Chief Executive Officer of the IHF, commented: “These are wonderful developments for the people of Cork, Kerry and the south east. The additional 20 beds announced for Cork sees the completion of the Marymount hospice development. It is great to see a target date of 2015 for the opening of the 15 bed satellite centre in Kerry. And the decision to start designing the regional hospice in Waterford is welcome news for the people of Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford.”
She continued: “These developments are testimony to the efforts of the hospice movement, the support of the public and the partnership approach adopted by the HSE. We hope to see the steps outlined in this Service Plan being implemented during 2013. We also hope to see further palliative care initiatives being unveiled in HSE Service Plans for other areas of the country. It is vital that existing regional inequities in palliative care services are tackled.”
