Cork University Hospital to start construction of new helipad

Cork University Hospital (CUH) has announced that construction is set to begin on its helipad, as well as a new pediatric care building on its campus.

The helipad is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, which will benefit air ambulance crews who have been using a nearby Gaelic football pitch to drop off critical care patients to the hospital.

Planning for the helipad has been in place since July 2019, with almost €2 million in funding raised. However, due to delays, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the project has been on hold for more than two years.

Once completed, the helipad will be able to accommodate any helicopter, reduce travel times for critical care patients and provide a method of inter-hospital transfers.

CUH Chief David Donegan said: “This is a welcome development in the progress of the two projects.

“It is necessary work to ensure that CUH can provide better specialist care to the patients across the south of Ireland who use our services, to centralize pediatric hospital care in Cork, as well as to provide much quicker access for patients being airlifted into and out of Cork in an emergency.”