Permission for second 96-bed block at University Hospital Limerick to be sought 'within months'

WORK to finalise the planning application for a new 96-bed block at University Hospital Limerick is progressing and it likely to be submitted in the coming months.

Pending planning permission approval, the works will be carried out directly adjacent to the 96-bed block currently under construction at the UHL campus in Limerick , and create the lower part of the next block over which the proposed second 96-bed block can be developed.

The acceleration of the project, as announced by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly last week, has been welcomed by the UL Hospitals Group.

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Discussions are continuing, led by HSE Capital & Estates, on the logistics, phasing, and timelines for the additional works alongside the ongoing development of the first 96-bed block.  

"It is expected that an application for planning permission will be finalised in the coming months for the works, which will include extensions to the two-storey underground car park, and to the ground-floor and first-floor of the building that houses the hospital’s Critical Care Block, Emergency Department and Renal Services," said a spokesperson for UL Hospitals.

The HSE is also preparing plans for the subsequent phase of capital works, which will include the construction and fit-out of the second 96-bed block – four 24-bed inpatient wards.

Welcoming Mr Donnelly announcement, the CEO of UL Hospitals Group, Professor Colette Cowan, says the ultimate delivery of the second block will go a significant way towards addressing the well documented shortfall of inpatient bed capacity in UHL and the Mid-West region.

“I’m delighted at the Minister for Health’s announcement, and the acceleration of these crucial enabling works that will pave the way for development of the second 96-bed block proposed as part of the UHL Site Masterplan. I thank Minister Donnelly, and indeed the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, for their continued support for and commitment to the delivery of additional bed capacity for the UHL site,” she stated.

Prof Cowan added: “The announcement is particularly welcome at a time when contractors are making great progress on the first 96-bed block, which was formally launched by the Minister last September. That development will not be sufficient in itself to address our historic shortfall in bed capacity, so this latest announcement is a significant step forward.