New hospice unit for terminally ill prisoners planned for Portlaoise

A palliative care facility for terminally ill prisoners is set to open on the jail campus in Portlaoise, according to the Governor of the Midlands Prison.

While the HSE is advancing a midlands hospice for the public, David Conroy said the prison hospice centre would be built on the Midlands Prison campus in Portlaoise.

“It’s just a matter of getting the job started,” he said in the interview with the Irish Times.

“A prison landing isn’t really conducive as a place to die. It’s noisy and it’s robust and we have recognised that. A centre would be quieter [and would] allow family to come in and be with a person as they’re dying, as they would be in hospital or in another care setting.

“This is a thing that we never really had to manage before; end of life during a custodial sentence. Sometimes a lengthy sentence [imposed] when they’re very old... the intention of the court, which has to be considered, is that they wtTheould finish their life in prison," he said.

The area of the campus where the centre was to be constructed had been identified and that business cases had been accepted.

The centre will be a one bed unit but other new health facilities are planned for elderly and infirm prisoners.

G-wing where a lot of elderly sex offenders are housed is set for a revamp.

The Government has pledged €20 million to the construction of hospice for Laois and other midland counties beside Tullamore hospital