7 December 2015
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Minister for Mental Health, Primary Care and Social Care Kathleen Lynch, will today (Monday 7th December 2015) officially open the new Cystic Fibrosis unit at Cork University Hospital (CUH).
File Photograph of Junior Minister Kathleen at a previous event
CUH has now the second largest adult Cystic Fibrosis (CF) centre in Ireland and currently caters for the needs of over 160 adult CF patients attending from the Munster region.
Commenting at the opening Minister Lynch said, “Credit first and foremost must go to Joe Browne and all involved in Build4Life for their tremendous fundraising efforts which has made this development possible. This achievement was even greater, when one considers that many of the volunteers and family involved were also with dealing with the challenges of Cystic Fibrosis.
The evidence of all that hard work is here today, in the shape of this magnificent new development. In caring for people with CF within the health system, it should always be our aim to minimise hospital admissions as much as possible. However, when hospital admission is necessary, the need for dedicated accommodation is paramount. This ward, with single bedrooms and state of the art infection control, will be a great boost for CF patients and their families in the Munster Area”.
Prof. Barry Plant, Lead for Cystic Fibrosis Medicine at CUH welcomed the opening of the ward and said:
“I am delighted with the opening of the dedicated adult CF and respiratory ward. It is an exciting and important development in the on-going evolution of CF medicine at Cork University Hospital, the second largest CF centre nationally.”
“We believe that these designated and protected beds will enhance the inpatient and outpatient care for all patients and will be a major support to the CF healthcare team in providing best patient care, in line with best international practice.
“We are very grateful for the on-going support of the philanthropic organisations and industry sponsors, the support of the Innovation Hub at UCC and especially Build4Life, who have in partnership with the HSE, made this state-of-the-art Cystic Fibrosis and Respiratory ward happen.”
Mr Tony McNamara, CEO of Cork University Hospital said,
“I am pleased that we are now able to provide comprehensive care for patients with CF. This is a very significant development for the hospital. The new adult Cystic Fibrosis and Respiratory ward built at a cost of over €2.3m is the culmination of a lengthy period of planning, design construction equipping and staffing.”
The Hospital’s Executive Management Board is committed to the ongoing development of facilities for CF patients.
Professor Geraldine McCarthy, Chair South/South West Hospital Group said
“It is truly great to see progress for cystic fibrosis patients in this part of the country. I wish to wholeheartedly thank Build4Life and in particular its chair Mr Joe Browne. Without Mr Browne’s huge fundraising efforts to the tune of €2.3 million we would not be here today. This new unit will contribute towards better patient care, better patient treatment and overall better patient outcomes.”
Mr. Joe Browne, founder of the Build4life charity which raised and donated the funds for the new ward said that he was thrilled that it was now opened.
“This is the culmination of many years work by hundreds of people. It is wonderful to see all the fundraising efforts have resulted in this ward which is now the primary respiratory inpatient facility for all of Munster. This donation from our charity will be the largest philanthropic donation in the history of CUH. I would like to thank everyone who fundraised and donated money to make this day happen.”
