Calls to develop 'under-utilised' Kildare health centre

Kildare County Council is to write to the HSE regarding the development of Maynooth Health Centre, following agreement in council.

The move follows a motion by Cllr Angela Feeney (LAB) who asked at a recent Clane Maynooth Municipal District meeting that the council take the action “given the shortage of available General Practitioner (GP) places to meet current and growing population needs.”

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Feeney explained that there had been discussions in the council about the need for a primary care centre for Maynooth, with ongoing discussions in the Department “at a sensitive stage.”

However, she said, setting that matter aside, there was a feeling amongst local people in Maynooth that the health centre in Maynooth was being “under-utilised”, with people regularly directed to primary care services in Kilcock.

Kilcock, Cllr Feeney pointed out, is outside of people's locality, and therefore very inconvenient.

Many GPs, she said, were looking to open new practices or extend their practices and are looking for properties in Maynooth, but these are “at a premium.”

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Cllr Feeney said there was room in Maynooth Health Centre for development, that it was a “fine building right in the heart of the town.”

She said there was a need to “re-ignite” discussions with the HSE to find out what their plans for the area were, so that councillors could feed back to local people what the latest developments were.

Cllr Feeney added that with a growing population in Maynooth, development of the health centre would be a very positive thing for the area.

Supporting the motion, Cllr Tim Durkan (FG) said there was “absolutely” a need for a purpose-built or adapted facility for healthcare in Maynooth to encourage doctors into the town.

There is a population of over 20,000 in the town, he pointed out, with 16,000 students also attending Maynooth University.

With 36,000 people living in Maynooth, he said, “the need for doctors is extreme at the moment.”

Cllr Durkan said he regularly gets calls from constituents complaining they cannot find a doctor in the area, with some patients send as far afield as Clane to seek appointments.

Maynooth, he stated, is the largest town in the municipal district, and there was “an absolute need” to encourage doctors to set up practice there.

Also supporting the motion, Cllr Donna Phelan (FF) said herself and Cllr Peter Melrose (SD) sit on the HSE Regional Forum, which may be of assistance in progressing the request.

She agreed with Cllr Feeney that the health centre is under-utilised, and said there is scope to expand on the building.

Following discussion, it was agreed in council to write to the HSE regarding the development of Maynooth Health Centre.