Private development: Construction work on a €40 million private hospital in Waterford is expected to start in February following completion of clearance work on the site early in January with the hospital scheduled to be operational in 2006, a spokesman for the developers has confirmed.
The Whitfield Clinic at Butlerstown North in Waterford will have 40 beds, three operating theatres and will offer a comprehensive diagnostic service including Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning.
The hospital will also include a radiotherapy facility with two linear accelerators as well as 12 consulting suites. Some 150 long-term positions will be created when the facility, which is located on the main Waterford Cork Road, opens in 2006.
The hospital is being developed by Euro Care International, a healthcare infrastructure company set up by Carlow dentist Dr Jim Madden and his wife, Mary. Ms Madden previously developed and operated the 25 bedroom Fitzwilliam Park Hotel in Dublin.
Detailed discussions have already taken place with a number of consultants currently based at Waterford Regional Hospital while negotiations are also ongoing with the world renowned University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre and other potential operators of the facility.
Consultant anaesthetist/pain specialist at Waterford Regional Hospital, Dr Ken Patterson, who partnered GP Dr Mark Rowe in initiating the project, has been appointed medical director of the new clinic which received planning permission from Waterford County Council in June.
Meanwhile, Dr Madden, speaking during a recent site visit, confirmed that site clearance work would begin shortly with construction work, which will create some jobs, starting early in 2005.
"We're obviously keen to get rolling so that we meet our target of having the first patients treated at Whitfield Clinic in 2006 which is now moving closer. We will be announcing fuller details of our plans for the Waterford development shortly after Christmas and will also confirm our full project team at that stage," said Dr Madden.
"Convenient access to treatments including radiotherapy is a legitimate and ongoing demand from the people of Waterford and the surrounding counties. In this context, the team at Euro Care International look forward to the roll-out of this and a wide range of other services that we will be providing in the south-east region within 18-24 months," Dr Madden said.
"Indeed, a clear strength of our site at Butlerstown North that is becoming increasingly apparent as rapid and visible progress continues to be made on the nearby Waterford City Bypass is the ease with which Whitfield Clinic will be reached by patients from across the city and throughout the region."
Euro Care International is involved in a number of other healthcare projects including a 26.5-acre healthcare park in Carlow that will feature a medical centre, diagnostics facilities, crèche, nursing home and day surgery theatres. In addition, dentistry and pharmacy services will be provided on the site which is located on the main Carlow-Dublin road. The facility will also have a residential element.