Blackrock Health to invest €500m, create 1,000 jobs in five years

Hospital group Blackrock Health is to invest €500 million in its hospital group in a move that could create as many as 1,000 jobs in Dublin and Galway in the next five years.
The company, which is owned by the Larry Goodman Trust and includes the Blackrock, Galway, Hermitage and Limerick clinics, said the investment will support 187 new beds, 14 new surgical theatres, six cardiac cath labs and a cancer centre for the group, which will be located in Blackrock Clinic. It will also support investment in technology for the group.
Of those new beds, more than 100 will be in Blackrock, with 47 in-patient beds and 63 ambulatory care beds within the existing site. The hospital will also get five new operating theatres and two new cardiac cath labs. The Hermitage will get almost 30 new beds, four new operating theatres, two new endoscopy suites, a new cardiac cath lab and the refurbishment of two others.
Galway, meanwhile, will see its in-patient bed numbers rise 30, with new ambulatory care beds for cardiology patients and a further 15 ambulatory care beds also opened. The hospital will get five new operating theatres, a new cardiac cath lab and a new cardiac CT scanner.
“Our plans for each hospital in the group are aligned to best practice thinking on the delivery of healthcare services in the future and respond to the needs of patients that we treat across each location,” said group chief executive Dr Caroline Whelan. “This includes expansion on ambulatory care beds by utilising the latest in medical advancements and as a result, reducing the need for hospital stays. Our continued investment in technology will enable our teams to continue to deliver world-class care whilst leveraging the very latest innovations in healthcare technology.”
The investment will bring Blackrock Health’s total staff numbers to 4,000, and expand the group’s inpatient bed capacity to just under 500.