Tallaght University Hospital officially opened their new intensive care wing on Friday.
The new wing, located on the first floor of the hospital, has twelve ICU beds, each of which are in a single room. The unit is 1,750 m2 and cost almost €20m to build.
The existing two-year-old ICU unit in the hospital will be refurbished between September to December. While that is happening, the existing nine ICU beds there will close but will reopen next January.
Read more: Worst Dublin hospital average Emergency Department wait times revealed
At the official opening of the new wing on Friday, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that the State's ICU capacity is set to expanded to 326 by the end of this year, up from 255 at the start of 2020.
Lucy Nugent, Chief Executive of TUH said patients requiring ICU care will "now receive it in the appropriate and superior location".
“The opening of our new ICU extension is part of the Hospitals strategy to improve infrastructure with the priority of improving access for our most vulnerable patients and prepare the Hospital for the increasing demands of serving a rapidly growing population," she said.
"Patients requiring ICU care will now receive it in the appropriate and superior location, ensuring the alternative areas previously used for ICU patients can be used for their proper purpose i.e. post anaesthetic care unit which facilitates complex post-operative patients."
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