Dundalk day care service for older people set to re-open

A “much-needed” day care service for older people in Dundalk is to re-open next month, more than two years after it shut, Louth TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.

The Sinn Féin TD said he has received communication from the HSE this week that the St Anne’s Day Service, which is run from St Oliver’s Community Hospital, is to commence on September 19.

Deputy Ó Murchú had written to the HSE earlier this month after those who work with older people in Dundalk, had voiced to him concerns that the date for the service opening, which was meant to be this month, had not been revealed.

The day care service was closed because of Covid 19 restrictions in 2020, but has not yet re-opened.

In correspondence earlier this year, the HSE advised Deputy Ó Murchú that they were looking to reopen it this month, but this has not happened.

However, in a letter to the TD, the HSE said the service would commence on a one day a week basis from September 19, with an initial intake of 16 people.

The HSE said it hopes to increase the numbers using the service on a gradual basis over the coming weeks and months, as demand for it is assessed.

Deputy Ó Murchú welcomed the news, saying it was “a relief to finally have a start date for this much-needed service”.

He said: “I welcome the commitment and hard work it has taken from St Oliver’s Community Hospital to get this service up and running again.”

The Louth TD added, “there is no doubt that there will be a high demand for it and, while it is only opening for one day a week initially, I wish to see it quickly ramping up to meet the needs of older people and their families in our community’.