Controversial HSE step-down facility in Nenagh to have a one-year lease

The Nenagh Community Nursing Unit will be a HSE step-down facility for one year.

That is according to Tipperary TD Michael Lowry in a statement today, August 2.

Mr Lowry said the one-year lease will begin in August with patients to be referred to the unit from the middle of this month.

He said he has been in discussions with Senior Executives at the HSE this week who have confirmed to him their position.

"It has been confirmed to me that Bartra Healthcare has been awarded the contract. This operator has experience in running several Nursing Units, including a similar facility, namely Beaumont House, in Dublin.

"Beaumont Lodge is a 220-bed sub-acute Transitional Care Unit. All the main Hospitals in Dublin successfully use this Unit as a step-down progressive care facility.

"The Nenagh Unit is contracted to Bartra Healthcare for one year only. A Consultant-led team of Doctors, Nurses, and Therapists will be on site.

"The facility will be run as a Community Step-Down Rehab and will support the clinical needs of those transferred from UHL," said Mr Lowry.

Mr Lowry went on to say that the unit will become a nursing unit again in September 2025.

And, he said as a step-down facility, north Tipperary patients will be prioritised.

"This decision was understandably greeted with disappointment by the patients and staff at St.Conlons’ he says, adding, ‘The decision was taken at the most senior level of Management at the HSE, supported by the Minister for Health.

"It was taken in the context of the appalling overcrowding and unacceptable conditions at University Hospital Limerick," said Mr Lowry.

A public meeting is to be held this Friday evening, August 2 at 6pm in the Scouts Hall in Nenagh on the controversial unit.