The HSE has awarded Kilcawley Construction an €11.3m contract to retrofit the former Aviva building at Galway West Business Park in Knocknacarra, a deal that shows the State converting purchased office stock into community healthcare capacity within a €30m overall project.

The Health Service Executive, Ireland’s public health service, bought the building in 2022 for €11.8m and is delivering the project, which will house integrated older persons and primary care teams, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, podiatry and social work services.

Kilcawley Construction, a Sligo-based contractor established in 1934 with offices in Sligo and Maynooth, works across healthcare, education, pharmaceutical, energy, commercial and residential projects and has previously delivered an intensive care unit extension at Sligo University Hospital.

Retrofitting began in March and is expected to finish by mid-2027, followed by equipping before services start, with road and parking realignment and landscaping scheduled for 2027.

The HSE said a Galway City West location will help meet growing demand for community healthcare as the population of Salthill and Knocknacarra continues to rise.

The works contract is valued at €11.3m plus VAT within an overall project cost of about €30m that includes the €11.8m purchase of the building.

The €30m total shows how much of the spend sits outside the works contract: the €11.3m retrofit and €11.8m purchase together account for about €23.1m, leaving about €6.9m for equipment, external works, fees and other costs not itemised.

The hub is part of a national model: the Enhanced Community Care programme was designed around 96 community healthcare networks, 30 older persons teams and 30 chronic disease teams, with the HSE projecting a 20% reduction in over-75s admitted to emergency departments where specialist teams operate.

Each network serves an average of about 50,000 people, according to HSE geographic data, which indicates the scale of demand each hub is built to support.

For the sector, retrofitting purchased office buildings into community health facilities is a repeatable line of public work for regional contractors with healthcare experience, and the extensive mechanical and electrical scope favours firms that can deliver complex fit-outs to clinical standards.

Source: Irish Independent / Medical Independent / HSE geographic data / Galway Live