The contract for the development of a cystic fibrosis (CF) unit at St Vincent’s hospital in Dublin was signed today.
Work on the €20 million-plus development by
John Paul Construction is expected to begin immediately.
The area for the unit has been cleared, finance is in place and a completion date is scheduled for mid-2012.
The unit - a five-storey, 100-bed hospital block of which two storeys and 30-35 beds in individual en suite units - will be dedicated to cystic fibrosis patients.
Cystic fibrosis primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. Ireland has four times the rate of the disease of other EU states and the US and some 1,300 people in Ireland are sufferers.
The Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland welcomed today’s development, but said it would continue to press for interim improvements in services in the hospital, including more isolation rooms, while the block is being completed.
It said it will also continue to seek to ensure that 34 beds are ring-fenced for CF patients.
Fine Gael health spokesman Dr James Reilly said the signing of the contract was “great news after many false dawns”.
He said it was a victory for cystic fibrosis campaigners. “I would echo the call of the Cystic Fibrosis Association for efforts to be made to improve conditions for CF patients while the new unit is being built.”