Construction work on a new 50-bed community nursing unit in Cork city began yesterday.

The unit, which is one of four such developments proposed for the city, will provide high-quality, long-stay therapeutic, rehabilitative and medical care for older public patients.

The community nursing unit (CNU) on the campus of St Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital is part of a €112m investment by the HSE.

CNUs will enable the transfer of hospitalised patients to appropriate care facilities when they no longer need acute hospital care.

It will also cater for older people who cannot be adequately cared for in their own homes.

The HSE South has completed the first of the four CNU developments approved for Cork at the city's St Finbarr's Hospital.