HSE marks three years of inpatient treatment at the South East Palliative Care Centre

The HSE’s South East Palliative Care Centre has, this week, marked its third year in full operation as an inpatient facility.

The Centre was developed as part of the €31.26 million five storey “Dunmore Wing” integrated project, completed on the grounds of University Hospital Waterford (UHW) in 2019. The South East Palliative Care Centre occupies the ground and first floor of the Dunmore Wing. The second, third and fourth floors of the Dunmore Wing feature 72 single, inpatient rooms for UHW.

The Waterford Hospice Movement (WHM) contributed €6 million to the South East Palliative Care Centre project and the WHM’s offices are based in the Centre. The WHM continues to provide patient comforts, equipment, amenities,  complementary therapies, counselling and support services for patients and their families known to the South East Palliative Care Service, whether in their own homes or availing of care in the Centre.

The ground floor (Oak Ward) of the South East Palliative Care Centre features 20 inpatient bedrooms (with individual patio gardens) for patients requiring the expertise of a specialist palliative care multidisciplinary team. Day services in palliative medicine, facilities for outpatient appointments and the base of the WHM’s office and the Waterford Community Specialist Palliative Care Team home care service feature on the first floor (Beech Ward).

The South East Palliative Care Centre is the hub for palliative care for counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and South Tipperary and has built on the existing Consultant led integrated model of care in place across acute hospitals and community healthcare services in that region.

Staff at the South East Palliative Care Centre support Community Specialist Palliative Care Teams across counties Carlow/Kilkenny (based in Aut Even Hospital, Kilkenny), South Tipperary (based in the HSE Community Care Centre, Western Rd., Clonmel ), Waterford (based in the Centre) and Wexford (based in Ely Hospital, Wexford).

A small celebration and “Thank You” to staff took place in the South East Palliative Care Centre on Wednesday (16^th of October, 2024) to mark its three years of operation as an inpatient facility.

Barbara Murphy (Chair of the Waterford Hospice Movement) and Liz Malone (Community Intervention Team Manager, Caredoc) were guests at the occasion. Speaking there, Anna Marie Lanigan (a Head of Service/Primary Care with HSE Dublin and South East) said;

“Over the last three years, the South East Palliative Care Centre has fulfilled its aim as a specialist inpatient and outpatient centre for the region it serves. In particular, there has been widespread appreciation of how the 20 en-suite rooms in the Oak Ward has offered a dignity to patients and families in difficult times for them.”

Staff in the Centre look forward to continued service in that regard, being conscious too that true to the Sláintecare strategy, the South East Palliative Care Centre operates by way of close co-operation of acute hospital and primary care services and liaison with care groups working in the community.”