A NEW SIX-BED palliative care unit has been announced by the Susie Long Hospice Fund for St. Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny.

The fund was set up in October 2007 after 42-year-old mother of two Susie Long died from bowel cancer.

Susie raised awareness about the public waiting list she experienced as she didn’t have private health insurance.

She wrote an e-mail to Liveline and spoke to Prime Time from hospital in Dublin where she outlined her belief in the need for a properly-resourced public health system.

After her death friends and family set up the fund with the aim of providing a 12-bed hospice in Kilkenny.

Her family said:

Today is an emotional day for us, as the promise of a hospice for Kilkenny begins to turn into a reality. We are delighted that progress is now being made in bringing this vital service to the people in our community.

“Susie had to travel to a hospice in Dublin and we were lucky to able to stay with family there to be with her in her final days.

They also added that “hospice care allowed Susie to emerge from pain and uncertainty, to become her full self again and allowed her to speak out on behalf of those who were not receiving the care and treatment they deserved.

We look forward to the opening of this interim 6-bed unit palliative care unit shortly and believe that pressure must now be maintained to build the permanent 12-bed hospice as soon as possible.

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