New CF day care centre gets go ahead

Clare volunteers who are part of a regional drive to raise €4.2 million for a new Cystic Fibrosis Unit received a boost this week after planning permission was granted for a new adult day care centre.

Clare Cystic Fibrosis representative Linda Drennan estimates that over €300,000 has been raised in Clare as part of the TLC4CF campaign in the Mid-West, which has raised about €1.35 million over the last two years.
This includes two tranches of national lottery funding totalling €300,000.
TLC4CF, an initiative formed by the Tipperary, Limerick and Clare branches of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland (CFAI), are delighted that planning permission has been granted for the new CF Adult Day Care Centre and In-Patient Unit at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick (MWRH).
“TLC4CF would also like to acknowledge the other very positive fact that the staff complement at MWRH dedicated to CF patients has increased as part of the overall drive,” a statement for the group said.
“The number of adult CF patients attending MWRH is increasing all the time as people living with CF are surviving longer. There is a dedicated paediatric CF team at the MWRH but, at present, the facilities in the Mid-West for adults with CF are very basic, which is why this announcement is so important.”
The unit will consist of two floors providing a specialised CF out-patient unit with five treatment rooms and a dedicated in-patient unit with nine ensuite rooms. The development is part of a six-storey €12.4m project, which is a joint venture with two other charities, Parkinson’s Association and the Mid-West Hospital Trust and the MWRH.
The existing canteen on the first floor will be demolished and rebuilt, facilities to treat patients with Parkinson’s/stroke will be provided on the second floor, floor three and four will be dedicated to CF patients, breast cancer treatment will be provided on the fifth floor with dermatology services available on the sixth floor.
It is hoped that building work will commence in April or May 2011. Donations can be made directly through any AIB branch or online banking A/C No 04310137, Sort Code 93-50-93.