The first phase of a two-stage project to extend the neonatal intensive care unit at University Maternity Hospital Limerick will be complete in the coming weeks.
However, the projected completion date for the overall project remains unclear.
When UMHL was opened in 1960, it was envisaged that the hospital would manage approximately 3,000 births per year.
In recent years, there have been over 4,200 deliveries per year, and in addition to this capacity issue, pregnancy and childbirth has become increasingly complex.
The planned relocation of the maternity on the Ennis Road to the grounds of UHL in Dooradoyle will be the most significant advance for women and babies in Clare and the rest of the Mid-West since the opening of UMHL.
There is a commitment to the relocation project in Project Ireland 2040, and while there is no specific target date for its completion it’s anticipated it will take seven to ten years to deliver, given the scale of the project.
In the interim, UMHL are undertaking a two-phase project to extend their neonatal intensive care unit and refurbish the department’s current facilities.
Phase one has involved building a two-storey extension to accommodate staff and parents’ facilities currently located in the existing neonatal unit and will also include a lactation centre.
This extension will create the opportunity to expand cot spaces, which will be undertaken in the second phase of the project.
It’s expected the first-phase of the project will be completed within weeks, however a date for the completion of the overall is still unconfirmed.
