The HSE has submitted plans for the construction of a 60 bed community nursing unit on the grounds of Merlin Park Hospital.
The proposed nursing unit will be a part one-storey, part two-storey building for community and residential care with 60 ensuite bedrooms.
This includes a dedicated 10 bedroom dementia unit to be housed in a single storey block.
Other facilities which will make up the new unit include dining rooms, residents areas, visitors room and family overnight room, treatment rooms, a hairdresser’s salon and more.
Design and landscaping elements to make the unit more comfortable for residents include balconies and an internal courtyard area.
The unit will have a floor space of 5,100sqm, and the total development in the planning application encompasses a 1.8ha site.
Before any work can begin the HSE would have to demolish several buildings already on the site including a carpenter’s workshop, storerooms, and a vacant former nurses accommodation building.
Public submissions concerning this development can be made to the city council until March 18, and a decision is due on this planning application by April 4.
