The continued closure of long-stay beds and some respite beds at Ennistymon Community Hospital has been condemned as “totally unacceptable” by former Clare County Councillor and local election candidate, Bill Slattery (FG).
In a statement issued to The Clare Champion, he said that serious questions need to be answered by the HSE and hospital management as to why vitally important and much needed services are being denied to the community.
“A huge amount of money and time has been invested by the people of North Clare in this facility and they deserve a return on that investment,” he said.
Mr Slattery recently wrote to HSE CEO Bernard Gloster to highlight concerns about the continued closure of 12 beds at Ennistymon Community Hospital.
He pointed out that six respite beds have remained unused in the old wing of the hospital since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, an additional six beds in the newly developed long-term ward – which is fully equipped having been due to open in June 2023 – also remain closed while 16 beds are currently open in another long stay ward at the facility. A separate letter to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly (FF)was forwarded to Minister of State Mary Butler (FF), who hadn’t responded at the time of writing.
Mr Slattery stated a large number of full-time staff, most of whom were living locally in their own accommodation, left Ennistymon Community Hospital in recent years.
He believes the HSE needs to examine why so many staff left before the introduction of a national recruitment freeze last November and why vacancies were not filled before this ban.
He called on the HSE to refurbish its Prague House facility in Ennistymon to provide accommodation for any newly recruited nurses at the local community hospital.
The current bed capacity in Ennistymon CNU is 25 beds, which includes 19 long-stay beds, one palliative care bed and five respite beds.
HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare Chief Officer, Maria Bridgeman confirmed at a recent HSE West Forum meeting the long stay beds have been operating at full capacity.
While the HSE has got approval to recruit some new staff, Ms Bridgeman admitted it is challenging to get medical personnel to work in a rural area like Ennistymon, particularly if they don’t live in the area.
Even though this has been partly addressed by agency staff, she pointed out the HSE couldn’t rely on agency staff on a long term basis and continue to work to try and resolve this staffing issue.
There is a high level of demand for long-stay beds in the area and Ms Bridgeman noted there is a waiting list for access to these beds.
“Demand for respite service has been affected by the pandemic, as many older people have been reluctant to leave their homes and access respite in a community setting,” she said.
“In spite of this, respite services in Ennistymon were offered during the pandemic in line with public health guidelines and have continued to be offered since then. The average occupancy of the unit over the last 12 months is 90% for the 27 beds.
“Recruitment and retention of staff remains an issue at Ennistymon CNU, as has been the case for many smaller units in rural areas. The palliative care bed and five respite beds are currently available for admission.
“In order to meet the demand for long stay care needs of the local population, the HSE has carried out refurbishment of one room to repurpose four respite beds to two long-stay beds. This will reduce the number of respite beds from nine to five and increase the number of long-stay beds to 19. Whilst in the short term this will reduce the overall bed capacity to 25 beds, it will ensure a targeted response to local population demand.”
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.