Plans to take over new Nenagh nursing home 'make no sense'

A TIPPERARY TD says plans by the HSE to proceed with using the newly constructed community nursing home in Nenagh as a stepdown facility to ease pressures on the University Hospital in Limerick (UHL) go against logic - particularly when a new building with 96 hospital beds is due to open soon.

The comments came from Tipperary Labour TD, Deputy Alan Kelly, who led the charge in fighting against the decision by the HSE to take over the new community nursing home in Nenagh and use it as a step-down facility to help deal with overcrowding in UHL.

Deputy Kelly said that in recent communication with the Health Minister and the HSE he received assurances that a new 96-bed block in UHL will be open next June.

He said plans to proceed with using the new nursing home in Nenagh are continuing against the backdrop of a guarantee that a contract to use the nursing home as a step-down facility would only be until the new 96-bed unit in Limerick opens.

“It make no sense – by the time they fit out the building properly for an acute setting, by the time they staff it with this private contractor and by the time they deal with the issues with the union where they’re heading to the Labour Court - it simply makes no sense,” Deputy Kelly said on Monday.

Deputy Kelly reiterated his understanding of the pressure staff at UHL are under and his support of other measures brought in regarding re-profiling the new 96 bed block to maximise beds, analysis of GP referrals at the entry to A&E and the possibility of moving MAUs to 24 hours across Nenagh, Ennis and St John’s hospitals if they can staff them.

He stood by his condemnation of the decision to not open the new community nursing, which he described as "completely wrong".

"I’ve a long history with the development of this new state of the art 50 bed unit built beside the hospital.

“Put simply two wrongs don’t make a right and depriving the elderly of Nenagh and surrounds of this facility is disgraceful. It’s also so wrong that the current 20 residents of St. Conlon’s which HIQA have said has to be closed because of its physical structure, will not be able to live their lives in this fantastic new facility.

"I’ve spoken to the families of these residents who are very angry about what’s planned."