Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to be given the opportunity to raise this important issue. I seek an update on the planned 12-bed hospice inpatient project for Sligo. For more than three decades, the North West Hospice has been providing wonderful care to people in counties Sligo and Leitrim, south Donegal and west Cavan. The hospice currently provides an inpatient unit, a community palliative care team and a hospice palliative care team. As many people in the north west will be aware, the hospice is planning a significant project, namely, a 12-bed unit along with day care and outpatient facilities. This is a major undertaking on the current hospice site with an estimated cost of €8.5 million. I understand that this project will be funded through a combination of Government funding, financing, corporate support, support from the diaspora and the local community, along with significant donors.

As representatives of the North West Hospice have stated, this project is crucial to cater for the current and future needs of local communities. The current inpatient unit comprises eight beds, three single rooms and a five-bed ward. The 12-bed project will allow for 12 single rooms and I concur with representatives of the hospice that this is essential and vital for the dignity and privacy of patients and their families. I visited a good friend of mine there nearly two years ago and the service, commitment and dignity shown by the staff, doctors and nurses were admirable.

All these services enable patients with life-limiting illnesses to access expert help locally. The North West Hospice serves a population of 110,000. That is why the project is so vital to the region.