The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, and Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, have officially opened a new Health Service Executive (HSE) Surgical Hub in Cork, serving the South West Health Region. The facility significantly expands elective capacity and will deliver thousands of day-case procedures, minor operations and outpatient consultations each year.

Opening the hub, the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, said: "It is vital that health infrastructure meets the needs of patients. The Surgical Hub opening today in Cork is an excellent example of this. By providing patients with a clear pathway through their elective care experience and ensuring timetabled appointments that are protected from pressures in the acute system, we can deliver high-quality timely treatment. This ultimately means better care for everyone.

"By developing new facilities such as this state-of-the-art Surgical Hub, we are ensuring that Ireland's healthcare system is fit for the future."

Minister Carroll MacNeill TD added: "I am delighted to see this new Surgical Hub in Cork open, helping to make a real difference to people's lives. I am very impressed by the modern facilities, which utilise the latest equipment and technology to provide a massive boost to our capacity and help to drive down waiting times for elective treatments.

"It is fantastic to know that many thousands of people will benefit from the treatment they will receive in this new Hub, whether that be for a hernia, carpal tunnel syndrome or pain relief injections. This Hub will ensure that they receive the care they need where and when they need it.

"I look forward to seeing the real difference we are making with this national elective care network. These Hubs are designed so that patients move seamlessly in one direction, from registration to pre-admission to the operating theatre, to the recovery bay, and then, on the same day, are discharged home." Operational activity begins on 29 September, with services introduced in phases. Once fully up and running, the Cork hub is expected to provide around 8,000 day-case procedures, 5,700 minor operations and more than 18,400 outpatient department (OPD) appointments annually.

The Cork HSE Surgical Hub is part of the Sláintecare Elective Care Programme, which is rolling out Surgical Hubs and Elective Treatment Centres nationwide to ensure elective capacity keeps pace with need and the health service is future-ready. Three hubs are already in operation — the Reeves Centre in Tallaght and the Surgical Hubs in Mount Carmel and Swords — with further hubs due to open in Limerick, Waterford and Galway in the coming months, and two more in design for Sligo and Letterkenny.

By delivering routine, high-volume, low-complexity care in dedicated elective settings, separate from emergency pressures, the hubs are designed to operate efficiently year-round, minimising disruption from seasonal surges and urgent care demands. This approach benefits patients using the hubs and helps free up capacity in acute hospitals for more complex and urgent cases.

Government policy is to expand elective capacity through the Elective Ambulatory Care Programme in two stages: first, a national network of Surgical Hubs to address medium-term demand and, next, Elective Treatment Centres (elective hospitals) in Cork, Galway and Dublin. Elective-only facilities manage planned day cases, minor procedures, outpatient treatments and diagnostics, without overnight stays and without emergency or complex surgery.

When fully operational, the Cork hub will feature four day-case operating theatres with supporting spaces, two minor procedure rooms, five OPD/treatment rooms, a dedicated recovery unit and associated clinical support and staff facilities. Care will be provided across 12 specialties: Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, ENT, Pain Relief, Plastic Surgery, Urology, Vascular Surgery, Dermatology and Maxillofacial Surgery. Examples of procedures include biopsies, steroid injections, carpal tunnel treatments, hernia repairs, tonsillectomies and cataract surgery.

The hubs are for public patients only. While people with private health insurance can be treated in the hubs, they will be treated as public patients, in line with the principles of the Elective Care Programme and Sláintecare.