Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide, the party\u2019s spokesperson on mental health and disability, has cautiously welcomed proposals by the HSE for a new 75-bed acute mental health service on the St Stephen\u2019s Hospital campus in Glanmire.<\/p>\n
Deputy Quaide, who worked as a clinical psychologist in the North Cork mental health services from 2013 to 2021, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHSE senior management confirmed at an Oireachtas members\u2019 briefing this week that they are developing a proposal for a 75-bed acute mental health facility serving both the North Lee and North Cork catchments.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the integrated health managers indicated that one possible design currently being worked on may involve three separate facilities of 25 beds each. This would replace the existing acute unit for North Cork at St Stephen\u2019s and provide a new purpose-built service for North Lee, where the current inpatient unit at St Michael\u2019s in the Mercy University Hospital cannot be brought up to proper standards due to site constraints.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two catchments together cover a population of almost 285,000, with more than 192,000 living in North Lee, encompassing the city north of the river as well as Macroom, Blarney, Cobh, Carrigtwohill, Midleton and Youghal.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorth Cork, which includes Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Mallow, Charleville, Kanturk and Newmarket, accounts for a further 92,000 people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe need for a safe, modern and therapeutic acute service for these communities has been evident for many years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cautiously welcome the HSE\u2019s announcement that St Stephen\u2019s Hospital is the proposed site for a new acute mental health facility serving the North Lee and North Cork HSE catchments. If the grounds are not excessively hard-landscaped to accommodate the elective hospital development, they could provide significant therapeutic benefits through access to nature.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is essential that inpatients are not overly concentrated in one area, and that bed allocation between North Cork and North Lee is fair and consistent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, public transport links to the hospital require major improvement to ensure this location is genuinely suitable for a large new acute mental health service.<\/p>\n
\u201cClear communication is also needed on the future role of St Michael\u2019s, where costly renovations are underway despite the HSE\u2019s position that it will not be viable for long-term acute mental health provision.\u201d<\/p>\n
December 4, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide, the party\u2019s spokesperson on mental health and disability, has cautiously welcomed proposals by the HSE for a new 75-bed acute mental health service on the St Stephen\u2019s Hospital campus in Glanmire. Deputy Quaide, who worked as a clinical psychologist in the North Cork mental health services from 2013 to 2021, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,726,652,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-hse","category-liam-quaide","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n