Thursday 14th December 2023: Sisk has celebrated a major project milestone on its Community Nursing Units (CNU) PPP project at our Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny site. When complete, the Thomastown CNU facility will provide 95 beds at a greenfield site adjacent to an existing HSE facility.
The Thomastown CNU is one of seven CNU’s Sisk are delivering through PPP (Public Private Partnership) throughout Ireland as part of the HSE’s CNU programme.
The CNU PPP Project will deliver residential care facilities comprising both short and long-stay beds at facilities across the country.
To maximise the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) techniques, the building superstructures are being manufactured off-site using pre-cast concrete. When complete, all buildings will be A2 Building Energy Rating (BER) minimum.
The programme will deliver 530 nursing-home beds to the HSE by the end of 2024 at the following locations:
- Thomastown – 95 beds
- Ardee – 50 beds
- Athlone – 50 beds
- Clonmel – 50 beds
- Killarney – 130 beds
- Middleton – 50 beds
- St Finbarr’s – 105 beds
Sensori FM, part of the Sisk Group, will act as the Facilities Management contractor and manage the FM in the completed CNU’s when they are operational. All facilities are expected to have construction completed by the end of 2024.
Marcus Carne, Managing Director of Regional Building at John Sisk & Son said: “Sisk is delighted to achieve this major project milestone across our CNU PPP bundle and to celebrate it at our Thomastown CNU site. Our CNU projects are being delivered using MMC (Modern Methods of Construction), with each of the superstructures manufactured off-site in precast concrete and then delivered to site and erected simultaneously. Congratulations to our CNU team, including our supply chain partners for helping us achieve this feat. We look forward to completing the project in the months to come, and to the phased handover of the seven CNU’s to the HSE throughout Q3 & Q4 2024. The CNU PPP will leave a lasting legacy in each of the seven communities in which we’re working.”
Hugh Crossley Chief Executive Officer at Equitix said: “This CNU project is testament to Equitix’s continued and growing presence in the Irish infrastructure market. From its initial involvement over 5 years ago in one of the earliest social housing PPP bundles, Equitix continues to participate in the domestic PPP market but has also widened its reach in the national infrastructure market through its partnership with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, supporting delivery of cross-sector greenfield infrastructure projects. This is all part of Equitix’s long-term commitment to Ireland and its strategic ambitions to grow its presence and activity here, led by its “on-the-ground” investment and asset management team in Dublin.
I’m delighted to see our 7 CNU Projects ‘Top Out’, thanks to the hard work and collaborative approach of our partners at HSE, John Sisk & Son and Equitix Management Services and look forward to bringing all 7 sites into operation next year, supporting the needs of some of the most vulnerable in society.”
About the Units
The modern design of the CNU’s creates a person-centred approach focusing on quality of life; providing an environment that reflects the comforts of home, with assistance provided as necessary around the performance of everyday tasks. Each household includes a dayroom and sunroom, dining area, break out spaces, activity spaces, quiet rooms, external spaces and staff and nursing areas.
In addition, shared areas and therapy spaces are included with facilities including a family overnight-stay room, clinical treatment rooms, physiotherapy and occupational therapy rooms and hairdressers’ rooms.
Extra thought will be given to interiors, which will be decorated to provide a more homely feel for residents than a traditional hospital setting.
Dementia specific beds are included in Killarney (three ten-bed households), St Finbarr’s (three ten-bed households) and Thomastown (two ten-bed households) as well as a Day Centre in Athlone.
