Bantrys €25m hospital face lift gets green light as Kinsale facility is given €600,000

WORK on a €2.5m refurbishment of St Joseph’s Unit at Bantry General Hospital will start on Monday.

The announcement – together with an allocation of €600,000 for Kinsale Community Hospital – will see long stay, respite and palliative care facilities brought into line with Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) standards.

Fine Gael TD, Noel Harrington, confirmed that local contractors have been appointed in both Bantry and Kinsale.

Mr Harrington described Bantry Hospital as ‘a wonderful asset’ and he welcomed the fact that a portion of the €2.5m allocation would be used to upgrade the pre-op ward.

The Cork South West TD said he was pleased that work on upgrading the 38-bed facility in Kinsale would start shortly.

Meanwhile, it has been announced by the HSE that another consultant physician has joined the staff of Bantry General Hospital.

Dr Mark Hannon, a consultant physician and endocrinologist, is now the fourth full-time consultant based at the hospital, having joined Dr Peter Wieneke, consultant physician, Dr Brian Carey, consultant geriatrician and Dr Olivier de Buyl, consultant physician.  

Dr Hannon is no stranger to Bantry. He did part of his medical training there, but he now specialises in diabetes and other endocrine disorders such as thyroid, pituitary, ovarian and adrenal disease and general medicine. 

Dr Hannon pointed out that Bantry General Hospital already has a clinical nurse specialist in diabetes, Tracy Hourihane, but said: ‘There are plans to extend the diabetes service, as well as providing specialist endocrine services in the West Cork region.’