State's 'most advanced' health centre to open in Cork city

A NEW € 14 million community health centre in Cork comprising GP surgeries and other medical facilities will lead to a major enhancement of health services on the northside of the city, according to the HSE and those behind the project.

The Health Centre, which will be located off the Northern Ring Road in Lower Mayfield, will be the State’s most comprehensive and advanced primary healthcare facility and will cater for both public and private patients, according to developers, Meitheal Projects.

Meitheal Projects spokesman Fergus Murphy said the 42,000sq ft facility would be the most integrated primary care facility to be built in the country to date, with diagnostic equipment such as X-ray and radiography not normally available in GP surgeries. The centre will house six GP surgeries, medical procedure rooms, dentists, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and other services, including a sports medicine facility. The centre will employ about 40 people.

“The facility is very much in keeping with the thrust of current primary care policies and best international practice,” said Mr Murphy, adding it would ease pressure on hospitals and emergency departments by providing diagnostic and treatment facilities locally.

The HSE welcomed the new centre, saying it was in negotiations with Meitheal Projects regarding service provision there, but that it would allow the local community access services in one centre while complementing existing secondary care facilities in Cork.

Local health manager with the HSE South David Drohan said the new centre would work as a building block for further developments and would ensure that people could receive many services close to home. Mr Murphy said the centre would also include a Health Care Pavilion with strong focus on preventative healthcare, while it would also host information sessions.

Mr Murphy was speaking after Cork City Council granted planning permission for the project which will also include a pharmacy, opticians and coffee shop, and he said it was intended that construction would begin in the summer and take about 18 months to complete.