Elected representatives urged to support campaign for new HSE nursing home for Roscrea
Roscrea's Dean Maxwell Community Nursing Home was discussed recently by the Dáil petitions committee
A CAMPAIGN to improve the resources available to accommodate people from Roscrea in a local public nursing home, among the people and place they spent their lives, is gaining momentum.
Led by Roscrea man, Donnacha Delaney, he is urging Tipperary's elected representatives to get behind the campaign and ensure public nursing home care continues to be delivered in Roscrea and people are not forced to relocate outside their hometown.
Mr. Delaney made a submission to the Dáil's petition committee, which was discussed at their May meeting and will be discussed again after the committee requested additional information from stakeholders.
“It is a matter of huge concern that Roscrea is set to lose one of its four nursing homes in terms of the provision of long-stay beds, at a time when there are waiting lists across each and we have a growing older population”, Mr. Delaney told this newspaper.
“None of us knows what the future holds, but I think we can all agree that if we do require a nursing home, that it would be important that we be able to stay in our own communities.
“We have one public and three private nursing homes in Roscrea, providing approximately 107 long-stay beds to the people of the town. A decision to close the Dean Maxwell as a nursing home, and instead offering short-stay, day and respite care, would mean 20 residents currently occupying 20 long-stay beds have to find a new home and likely be scattered far and wide. It would also mean the closure of two palliative care beds.
“It is simply wrong that residents who have become like family to each other would have their final years disrupted in this way, not to mention staff who are a vital part of that family. It would also potentially set some residents back in terms of their care”, Mr Delaney told the Committee.
“The HSE has a number of site possibilities in the town which could operate as a home for the new community nursing unit, including the current Cré House primary care centre in Roscrea, which has been superseded by a new primary care centre. There are also a number of green-field sites in Roscrea which could easily operate as a new home for the Dean Maxwell.
“I have previously suggested to the HSE about undertaking a public consultation process as to its plans for older person care in Roscrea. This would seem to me to be a very appropriate response when proposing such a dramatic change to services.
"I think it is also appropriate to consult with specialists in the care of older persons as to the consequences for residents of being separated from other residents, and nursing and caring staff, who have become part of their family, and who provide a tight-knit community of care and support”, Mr. Delaney said.