HSE allocates €1.5m for nursing homes

Elderly care facilities in Kilrush and Ennistymon have received a major boost following official confirmation of funding totalling €1.5 million.

 

The Health Service Executive (HSE), in partnership with local support groups, will provide €750,000 for the extension of Regina House, Kilrush and Ennistymon Community Hospital.

The Clare Champion has learned the HSE has issued invitations to tender through a restricted tendering procedure for the two developments.
The Ennistymon development will consist of the construction of a new, single-storey extension of about 330m2 to provide four twin bedrooms with en suite accommodation, a centralised nurses’ station and a number of ancillary rooms, a new plant room and associated site works. It provides about 27 beds including residential, palliative, respite and short-stay care.

The development in Regina House includes the demolition of the existing enclosed link corridor between the nursing unit and the daycare centre and the construction of a single-storey extension of about 350m2 to provide accommodation for five twin bedrooms with ensuite facilities, link corridor, staff support rooms and a new sitting room, an extension to the existing plant room and associated site works.

Regina House currently accommodates about 30 elderly patients providing residential, respite, palliative and short-stay care.    
These upgrading works are phase one of the development of both facilities over the coming years to comply with regulations from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

Welcoming the funding allocation, Deputy Pat Breen predicted the modernisation of facilities in both centres will give residents’ privacy and dignity. Deputy Breen praised the support groups in both areas for their commitment to providing care for the elderly and to the local communities for their generosity in providing voluntary funding.
“Both Regina House in Kilrush and Ennistymon Community Hospital provide a range of services for older people including extended care, respite care and palliative care, which are very much valued by the people of West  and North Clare,” he said.

The Friends of Ennistymon Hospital has estimated that up to €3 million will be needed over a five-year period to comply with HIQA guidelines.
Committee secretary Tomsie O’Sullivan stated the HSE would provide in the region of €400,000 with the Friends providing about €300,000 for the first phase of the overall upgrading of the hospital.

Mr O’Sullivan pointed out the group had raised between 60 and 70% of the cost of major improvements at the hospital over the years, thanks to the generosity of their supporters and noted they had made one of the highest contributions to voluntary elderly care facilities in the west.

Friends of Regina House chairman, Seán Dunleavy, said the committee has been constantly fundraising over the last five years to provide equipment and facilities for the centre on an ongoing basis and would continue to do so over the coming years to support future developments.