Sheehan Medical Launches New €90m Private Hospital in Cork

John Cleary Developments Signs Landmark Deal at City Gate, Creating 675 jobs at the Cork Medical Centre.

18th June, 2009. Cork Ireland: Irish private hospital operator, Sheehan Medical, has today announced that they are to open a new €90 million private hospital in Cork next spring. It will be the first new private hospital facility to open in the city for 30 years.

The deal has been signed with John Cleary Developments to be the anchor tenant in their new City Gate development in Mahon.

The new Cork Medical Centre will provide a huge boost to the local economy creating 150 new jobs during fit out, 350 new positions to run the hospital, which will also have 75 doctors on site with 100 ancillary staff.

This state of the art facility will use the latest technology and surgical techniques, combined with best practice from their successful facilities in Dublin, Galway and Chicago. It has the capacity to offer over 39,000 patient treatments per year.

The 135,000 sq ft building is already constructed and has full planning permission for use as a private hospital. Fit out on the Cork Medical Centre has already begun and it is scheduled to open on the 19th April 2010.

The Cork Medical Centre will be a 5 star facility providing 75 single in-patient bedrooms, fully sealed with the latest in infection control. The main focus of the hospital will be surgery; there will be four operating theatres and a same day surgery centre with 20 out-patient beds.

The hospital will also house an intensive care unit; radiology facilities with MRI / CT / X-ray scanners; a cardiology and neuroscience facility. It will be fitted with next generation IT systems, which is a particular speciality of Sheehan Medical. International accreditation, benchmarking and auditing will be provided by an internationally renowned healthcare organisation.

As with their associated clinics at Blackrock Dublin and Galway a community focus will be key to the success of the hospital, which will be available to the majority of private health plans.

Expansion of the facilities is already being planned with Sheehan Medical looking for partners to operate specialist treatment centres dedicated to cancer care, renal dialysis, physical rehabilitation and bio-engineering.

Dr Joseph Sheehan, Chairman of Sheehan Medical, said: "We have been planning a new hospital in Cork for several years so the Cork Medical Centre marks the satisfactory end of a long process for us. We bring with us the high standards of treatment that we provide in our Blackrock and Galway Clinics combined with the latest technology and practices from the US. Demand for surgery is very high locally so a new first class hospital is long overdue. Meeting this important demand for the people of Cork will be our main priority."

John Cleary of John Cleary Developments, said: "This investment by Sheehan Medical is a major milestone in the development of Munster's leading medical campus here at City Gate. Sheehan Medical is in our opinion the optimum operator for this new hospital and will bring cutting edge technology and world class care. Their decision to establish a major new facility here is not only a vote of confidence in Cork but for the Mahon area in particular. We have already begun the process of appointing specialist Sub-Contractors and work on the fit-out of the hospital has commenced. The hospital will be handed over to Sheehan Medical in February next year for commissioning in time for the opening on the 19th April 2010."

John Cleary Developments last week received planning permission for an additional 35,000 sq ft of out-patient and ambulatory medical floorspace in an adjacent building at City Gate.

This first class development is now emerging as an important medical hub for Cork. The Cork Medical Centre is complemented on site by VHI Swiftcare, the largest urgent care clinic in Ireland, which will refer patients to the new hospital. It is also home to the national headquarters of the Health Information & Quality Authority.

City Gate is strategically located next to Mahon Point Shopping Centre close to Cork's South Ring. In total the €140m development provides 330,000 sq ft of high quality floorspace with 900 underground car parking spaces.

Sheehan Medical is being assisted by Merkava Healthcare Consulting, run by John Looney a former executive director for VHI, and Mount Street Corporate Finance based in Dublin.