Galway Hospice €1.5 milion expansion plan

Plans for a €1.5 million six-bed extension to Galway Hospice – bringing the total number of beds at the palliative care facility to 18 – have been lodged with city planning officials.

And management at the hospice will decide in the coming months on the suitability of a site in the Merlin Park/Doughiska area for a purpose-built long-term facility with up to 26 beds, and space for an additional 26.

Planning permission has been sought a one and two-storey extension to the existing building for extra bedrooms and communal areas, and a courtyard extension.

The plans also include a new entrance off the existing junction off Michael Collins Road. If approved, the extension could be completed within twelve months.

Chief Executive Sean O’Healy told the Galway City Tribune that the hospice has funding for the construction plan – including the new access – and that the HSE has committed to fund the operational costs, but there is no formal agreement on a figure.

“We really need the extra beds because of the huge demand. We have enough funding in place, but it will seriously challenge us to buy the land (for the long-term new hospice plan.

“We have no other choice, our long-term plan would be a new [hospice on a woodland site of up to ten acres], and we hope to find a compatible use for the existing building in the future. We would like to hold on to what we’ve got. We’re very conscious of the fact that people have put a lot of money into the hospice, and we’d like to keep the building,” said Mr O’Healy.

At the moment preliminary ground tests and planning enquiries are underway for the proposed new site.

It’s understood that an entirely new facility – ‘future-proofed’ with space for up to 52 beds on a site of up to ten acres – could be ‘bought and built’ for around €10m to €12m.

Local Fine Gael TD Brian Walsh – who has been involved in negotiations to secure funding for the hospice from Government – told the Connacht Tribune: “It hasn’t been easy but we’ve overcome each challenge as it arose, and the submission of the planning application is an important milestone that puts us within reach of our goal.

“Galway Hospice has long been a paragon of palliative care in the community and thousands of people in the West have been touched by incredible services it provides.

“We’ve worked very hard to secure support for this cause at the highest level, and I’m confident that this is one of the final steps in ensuring that the organisation gets the support and recognition from government that it deserves,” said Deputy Walsh.