We welcome today’s announcement by An Taoiseach Michéal Martin of €20 million in capital funding for a new specialist palliative care inpatient unit for the Midlands. The long-awaited hospice will be built on a site at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore and will serve the counties of Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath.
Commenting on the announcement Irish Hospice Foundation’s Director of Healthcare Siobhán Murphy said:
“Irish Hospice Foundation have been working to progress the development of this long-awaited inpatient hospice for many years. We have been highlighting the fact that the Midlands was the last region in the country to have access to an inpatient unit. We wish to acknowledge the collective effort that has gone into securing this funding by the various hospice groups across the Midlands who have advocated and lobbied so passionately for the development of this hospice. We will continue to work with all involved to ensure that the end-of-life care needs of people living in the Midlands are being met, whether they are being cared for in their home, in hospital or in a hospice.”
Ensuring that there is a specialist palliative care inpatient unit every region in the country was a commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government. It was also a key recommendation of the 2001 Report of the National Advisory Committee on Palliative Care should have a comprehensive specialist palliative care service to meet the needs of patients and families in every HSE area. The 2020 Programme for Government commits to publishing a new Palliative Care Policy for Adults to update the existing policy from 2001. This will reflect the many developments in end-of-life care and international best practice.
