SIPTU calls for Community Nursing Unit in Tipperary to be used for original purpose

SIPTU members in St Conlon’s Community Nursing Unit (CNU) in Nenagh, county Tipperary have expressed deep concern at reports that a new building that was to cater for residents may instead be used as a step-down facility for University Hospital Limerick patients.

SIPTU Organiser, Mark Quinn, said: “Our members at St Conlon’s CNU were preparing to move residents to the new state-of-the-art facility.

"However, they are concerned by media reports that the facility will now not be used for its original purpose but rather as a step-down facility for University Hospital Limerick patients. Their concern has been further heightened by suggestions that a private provider will manage the step-down facility. 

“The reports that the newly-built facility will not be used for its original purpose is also of grave concern to St Conlon’s CNU residents and the wider community. The idea that a private company will provide services out of a state-of-the-art building, which has been built using significant state funding, is extraordinary. 

“This is all the more disheartening when it is considered that the building project progressed following concerns raised by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) regarding St Conlon’s CNU and its current suitability to adequately provide services for residents”.

He added: “SIPTU has raised its objections to this plan formally with the HSE and is awaiting a response. We have made our intention clear that we will use all options available to us as a union to secure the best possible outcome for the staff of St Conlon’s CNU, the residents that depend on its services and the broader community of Nenagh”.