Roscrea's long-stay Nursing Home beds secured

After years of uncertainty and campaigning to secure Roscrea's long-term care beds in the Dean Maxwell Community Nursing Home, a new deal which expands the Dean Maxwell campus to nearby Mount Carmel Nursing Home has ensured long-term public care will continue to be provided in Roscrea.

The Dean Maxwell campus will grow after securing the 30 beds in the Mount Carmel Nursing Home when the HSE will acquire the facility as a going concern.

Fears had been building in the town in recent years that the creation of a new 50 bed Nursing Home on the grounds of St. Conlon's in Nenagh forecasted the closure of Roscrea's long-term care beds and that Roscrea people would be accommodated in Nenagh, which is 32-km away on a route with few public transport options.

That sparked outrage in Roscrea, where the Dean Maxwell Nursing Home had built a reputation for providing excellent care for generations - described by activists fighting to save the facility as “a home away from home for Roscrea people”.
News of the expansion of the Dean Maxwell was welcomed in Roscrea on Tuesday afternoon.

Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary, Jackie Cahill confirmed that the Fianna Fáil Minister for Older People, Mary Butler, has reached an agreement between the HSE and the Mount Carmel Nursing Home that will see Roscrea’s long-stay nursing home beds remaining in Roscrea.

The news was also announced by Deputy Michael Lowry, who said the provision of long-stay Nursing Home beds at Mount Carmel in Roscrea in conjunction with the retention of a range of allied Elderly Care services at the Dean Maxwell Community Home marks a “major move forward for elderly care in Roscrea”.

“Since the formation of this Government, I have publicly made the provision elderly care in Roscrea my political priority” Deputy Lowry told the Tribune.

“Maintaining and utilising the cherished Dean Maxwell Home on its existing site is something that is of paramount importance to the people of Roscrea. I have always been very conscious of this fact. Making it possible for Roscrea people to stay living in their own town has always made perfect sense to me. Moving older people to facilities in other towns, where visits by family and friends would be made extremely difficult is something I could never have agreed to. The people of Roscrea deserve better than this”, Deputy Lowry said.

“With the co-operation and commitment of the Sisters at Mount Carmel, the future of elderly residential care in Roscrea is now secure.

“I believe the purchase of the Mount Carmel Nursing Home site adjacent to the Dean Maxwell building is the correct approach to stabilise long-term residential bed capacity and also address community needs of the local population in Roscrea as close to home as possible. I also believe the acquisition of this site will allow for the provision of dementia-specific services in Roscrea”, Deputy Lowry said.

Tipperary Fianna Fáil Deputy Jackie Cahill and Roscrea based Cllr Michael Smith have been working with their Fianna Fáil colleagues in Government to secure the future of the long-stay beds for Roscrea.

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Deputy Cahill said: “The Fianna Fáil Minister for Older People, Mary Butler has informed me that an agreement has finally been reached that will see the long-stay beds for the people of Roscrea, remaining in Roscrea.
“I know that this will come with great relief to local people in Roscrea, who had been worried that the long-term care for their elderly would be moved out of the town and over to Nenagh.

“Thankfully, following extensive discussions with Minister Butler, the then Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Minister Michael McGrath, and other key officials, I can confirm that the HSE has reached an agreement to purchase Mount Carmel Nursing Home, which is adjacent to the Dean Maxwell, as a going concern.

“This means that the Dean Maxwell campus has been expanded, through securing the 30 beds in the Mount Carmel Nursing Home as a going concern. I am pleased to know that the long-term, short-term, respite and day care facilities will all remain on campus, in the heart of Roscrea, for the people of Roscrea.

“I would particularly like to acknowledge the contribution and hard work put into saving these beds for Roscrea by the local Fianna Fáil Cllr, Michael Smith.

“Cllr Smith and I have had numerous engagements with various senior Government Ministers in relation to Dean Maxwell over the last number of years, and today we are seeing a Fianna Fáil Minster for Older People and a Fianna Fáil Finance Minister delivering for the area”, Deputy Cahill said.

There are also 12 independent living units on the campus with eight integrated into the nursing home building and four on a separate site development.  The centre is HIQA compliant, centrally located, is a fit for purpose environment and currently provides high quality accommodation, appropriate to the current residents needs with single en-suite bedrooms. 

There is also a variety of communal areas with access to outdoor space, as well as an adjacent modern 6- bedded residence and a convent building.