TEACHERS and staff at St Flannan’s College have voiced opposition to plans for the development of a €25 million 100-bed community nursing unit on land used as playing grounds by the Ennis secondary school. According to a statement issued by the staff of St Flannan’s the proposal “will have a seriously negative impact” on the student population. “The green field site in St Flannan’s College is the last remaining site of its kind in Ennis. Urban sprawl is taking up much more of our green spaces each year. Once this land is built upon it will be gone forever,” it states. The teachers and staff have detailed reasons for their opposition to the plans including that during the academic year many teams of various sports regularly train on the pitches. “With so many students on the fields at any one time all our field space is utilised, including much of the space that is suggested for development under the proposed …
Read More »Details of proposed new €25m Ennis community hospital revealed
AFTER an initial delay, an application for planning permission for the construction of a new €25 million community hospital in Ennis to replace long stay and short stay beds at St Joseph’s has been lodged with Clare County Council. The HSE had initially lodged a planning application for the development at the beginning of August. The Council, however, deemed the application ‘incomplete’ as the site notice had not been erected and dated within two weeks prior to lodgement. A new application has now been made for the development at lands at Clonroadmore, South-East of Turnpike Road and North-West of St Flannan’s College in Ennis. According to the plans the development will consist of: the construction of a part two-storey, part single-storey 100 bed residential community nursing unit (CNU) including; main entrance foyer block; production kitchens; offices; plant room; courtyard gardens with ancillary support accommodation and an enclosed gated delivery yard incorporating a maintenance building and generator. The development will also …
Read More »Public consultation on Ennis community nursing unit proposal
THE HSE will present 3-D drawings and a model for a proposed €25 million 100 bed community nursing unit for Ennis at a public consultation meeting this week. The meeting on Wednesday, June 22, at the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis from 1pm to 3pm will set out plans for the construction of the 100-bed unit on a 5.09 acre greenfield site near St Flannan’s College. Details of the public consultation have come ahead of the anticipated lodging of a planning application with Clare County Council for the development at the end of this month. The proposed new unit if given the green light for planning by the local authority will replace long stay and short stay beds at St Joseph’s Hospital. A design team has completed an outline design phase of the project. The proposed unit will include 88 single and four twin rooms, and four palliative care facilities. The project has been included for funding in the HSE …
Read More »Celebration of creativity in St Joseph’s Hospital
A WINDOW of opportunity for creativity at St Joseph’s Hospital was created as part of the recently held National Arts in Nursing Homes Day. Clare based artist Rachel Macmanus visited the Ennis hospital and painted an artwork inspired by the stained glass windows of St Joseph’s church to the delight of residents. The project was one of a number of nationwide events for National Arts in Nursing Homes Day, held as part of Age & Opportunity’s Bealtaine Festival. Rachel, who has been a part of other creative projects at the hospital pre-Covid 19, tells us she was happy to be able to return to St Joseph’s. Drawing upon the stained glass windows of St Joseph’s Church as inspiration, Rachel painted her own version of the windows directly onto the windows of the hospital’s Sun Room, a congregational gathering space for the residents of the hospital. “The windows of St Joseph’s Church are very beautiful and tranquil and my idea was to bring some of …
Read More »Time for moral victories over as race for Jack Daly heats up
Senior Football Championship Round 3 Group 2 St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield v Kilrush Shamrocks at Cusack Park Ennis, Sunday 4pm Bouncing back from deflating opening performances, both Doora/Barefield and Kilrush unquestionably exceeded expectations last time out albeit with contrasting results. The Parish brushed off an underwhelming eight point reverse to St Breckan’s to take their frustrations out on Kilmihil by a whopping 16 points and that will have provided a huge jolt of confidence to their young squad in what is the club’s first year back at senior level since 2018. Equally, there was much to like about Kilrush’s spirit and application to certainly make life extremely uncomfortable for a St Breckan’s side that was expected to steamroll the Shams. However, the time for moral victories and valiant performances in defeat are over as with two teams getting the chop this year from senior level, this group more than most knows the heartache of having to rebuild in the second tier, …
Read More »Plans for €25m community hospital soon to be lodged
A PLANNING application for a €25 million community hospital in Ennis to replace long stay and short stay beds at St Joseph’s is set to be lodged by the end of this year, it has been confirmed. If given the green light, the 100-bed community nursing unit will be situated on grounds adjacent to St Flannan’s College. A design team has been put in place and have began an outline design phase of the project. The unit will include 88 single and four twin rooms, and four palliative care facilities. The project has already been included for funding in the HSE Capital Programme 2021. Details of the proposal were confirmed in response to a Dáil question put by Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey to Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly. In early 2016, a Capital Programme for Older Persons Residential Centres was developed and agreed with the Department of Health in response to the introduction of HIQA’s, National Residential Care …
Read More »“Affront to dignity” HIQA criticism of St Joseph’s
DESPITE some positive feedback from residents about the care they receive, HIQA inspectors found that significant problems exist at St Joseph’s Hospital in Ennis. One of the criticisms made in a report published on Wednesday was that there is a “failure to ensure that residents’ privacy and dignity was upheld at all times during the provision of care”. The inspection report found that staff cannot deliver care in the way required because of the state of the facilities. “The curtain layout in some bedrooms was such that it was not possible for staff to deliver care in a dignified way. For example, screen curtains do not always meet and so the resident receiving the care is at high risk of being inappropriately exposed. Inspectors observed a resident receiving personal care in an undignified way. “Another example of an affront to dignity was observed for a number of residents as a result of staff not managing and responding to a resident’s …
Read More »New Site For St Joseph’s Hospital
A SITE has been secured for the construction of a new €25 million St Joseph’s Hospital in Ennis. The construction of the 100-bed, community nursing unit on five acres of Diocesan lands located near the Turnpike in Ennis will ensure that elderly care services remain at the heart of the county town, according to Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen. Deputy Breen said, “I am delighted that a site has been secured at this central location in Ennis for the construction of the new €25 million St Joseph’s Hospital. The sale of the 5.09 acres of land remains subject to planning permission for the development of the 100 bed Community Nursing Unit, but I believe the site provides the best option following the appraisal of a number of sites in the Ennis environs by the HSE. “The new state-of-the-art St Joseph’s Hospital building has been prioritised in the HSE Capital …
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