Ministerial hospice promise for Laois and other counties 'not honoured' insists Offaly group

A hospice for Laois and other Midlands counties is not being blocked, but a ministerial commitment that an alternative location in Tullamore should be pursued 'has not been honoured', according to Offaly Hospice. 

A statement issued to the Leinster Express / Laois live from the Offaly group says that recent public commentary may have "created uncertainty" about the current role of Offaly Hospice in the project, which has been in the pipeline for many years.

"Far from 'blocking' or 'refusing' a regional hospice, Offaly Hospice has led the hospice project from the beginning," said the statement.

Since its foundation in 1990, Offaly Hospice says its volunteers and donors have fundraised in the community so that many patients and families going through the trauma of life-limiting illness. 

It insists that patients in the Midlands badly need a specialist hospice and Offaly Hospice has continually highlighted that key deficit in patient care.

"In May 2019, we launched the Midlands Hospice Building Fund with €500,000 of donated community funds. Working with the HSE, a site on the grounds of the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore was agreed in October 2020. Full architectural plans were completed and agreed on and ready to go to planning by October 2021.

"In September 2022, Government funding of €20 million was allocated for that site and those plans.

"Had this originally agreed project been allowed to continue, the Midlands Regional Hospice could very likely be built or nearing completion today," said the statement.

This site was subsequently deemed unsuitable. In early April 2023, Tullamore Lions Club/Hooves4Hospice offered the HSE an alternative site for the regional hospice on Arden Lane, Tullamore, an area zoned for open space and recreation and surrounded by land zoned for industry and warehousing.

This site has the backing of Laois Hospice, which has committed substantial funding to the project.

However, Offaly Hospice says it was not notified about the decision to choose this site. 

"Despite continued high-level contact at that time between the HSE and Offaly Hospice on the plans for the designated site at the hospital, the HSE opted not to inform Offaly Hospice about the Arden Lane site and its arrangements for almost six months. By late August 2023, it was clear the HSE had opted for Arden Lane and plans for the hospital site were effectively discarded. An offer by the HSE to reimburse Offaly Hospice for architect fees paid out on plans for the hospital site remains outstanding," said the statement.

Offaly Hospice also claim that the HSE preferred site has hit problems with planning.

"Planning problems on Arden Lane, including rezoning, poor access, and absent services, are now front and centre of the planning process with the potential for further delays and escalating costs. These concerns are valid and need to be seen in the context of achieving the best outcome for the development of a regional hospice for the Midlands," it said.

Offaly Hospice also point to an alternative third viable site which the Department of Health and HSE is aware of.

"In September 2023, Offaly Hospice offered the HSE an alternative free site for the hospice on Wellwood Health Park, Tullamore next door to the Regional Hospital (Tullamore), adequate in size, with correct zoning, good access and connectivity, and services.

READ ALSO: New equipment for hospice care in Laois thanks to generous donations

"In his decision on the Midlands Regional Hospice dated 24 September 2024, then Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, opted for Arden Lane but stipulated that if planning had not been granted within twelve months, the Department of Health and HSE would be instructed "to revert at that point to the Wellwood site, should it still be available, as the designated site".

"The Wellwood site is still available, ready to go to planning, and the instruction from Minister (Stephen) Donnelly has not been honoured. It is also true that the Midlands has more than one workable option for the Regional Hospice in Tullamore.

"The original regional hospital campus site is available, already designed, clinically appropriate, centrally located, and served by good transport locally and regionally," said the statement.

READ ALSO: Fears grow for Laois health facility

The Group concluded that while the planning process is ongoing, Offaly Hospice remains dedicated and committed to patient welfare and continues to fund and support local palliative care services in the community and at home. It said all is made possible by the exceptional support we receive from so many volunteers and donors for which we are truly grateful.

The Midlands is the only region where people do not have access to inpatient, dedicated palliative care in a purpose built hospice.