New surgical hub for Cork

By Marguerite Kiely

A new surgical hub is set to open in Cork University Hospital with the aim of easing waiting lists.

Cork is one of a number of hub locations that were announced by the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly.

The concept behind the establishment of surgical hubs is to relocate a significant number of day-case procedures to these specialised centres. This will allow hospitals to focus on people on waiting lists in other areas.

The surgical hubs are being developed in key locations on-site or on sites operated under the governance of Model 4 hospitals.

The hubs are being modelled on the Reeves Centre at Tallaght University Hospital. Over the course of the first 24 months of operation of the Reeves Centre, the total number of patients waiting on day case surgery was reduced by 58%. Surgical hub developments are estimated at a cost of €100-120 million between capital and revenue, and the CUH hub will be a modular build, say the Department of Health.

Speaking about the initiative, Minister Donnelly said: “These surgical hubs now being developed will address waiting lists in the shorter term and will complement the longer-term development of regional elective hospitals in Galway, Cork and Dublin.

“I’ve asked the HSE to ensure that the first of the new hubs will be operational before the end of this year, with more following in 2024.”