Thousands march in Nenagh against HSE plans

THOUSANDS of people participated in a demonstration in Nenagh on Saturday following the decision by the HSE and the Department of Health to use a new 50-bed community nursing home as a temporary step-down facility to alleviate overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick.

Politicians are divided on a potential solution to the issue, with what has been described as an 'all or nothing' approach taken by one side and the possibility of dividing the building and using it as a dual purpose facility being proposed by the other.

The new St. Conlon's unit, a 50 bed facility which is ready to be occupied and cost €24-million, had been intended as a replacement long-term care facility for residents of the current St Conlon's nursing home in the town centre, which the Health Investigation and Quality Authority (HIQA) has deemed not fit for purpose for the just over 20 residents who live there.

Residents and their families had been looking forward to moving to the new spacious facility soon, until the unexpected decision by the HSE to use the new facility to alleviate the significant congestion problems at the region's only acute hospital, UHL.

Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has indicated he plans to proceed with the controversial HSE plan and temporarily use the new building as a privately run step-down facility to care for patients which would have been designated to UHL.

The plan will ensure maximum use of all available bed capacity across the region, for a period of 12 months when it will be reviewed, the HSE said.

The decision immediately prompted a strong rejection by the public and staff, who say the elderly and vulnerable residents of St Conlon's expected to be in the new nursing home very quickly.

Thousands of people marched through the town from St Conlon's community nursing home to the new facility located beside Nenagh Hospital.

They called on Minister for Health Stephan Donnelly and the HSE to reverse it and to allow the facility to proceed to open for its intended purpose rather than be used over the next year to relieve the overcrowding at UHL.

POLITICAL DIFFERENCES

Local representatives Deputy Alan Kelly and Councillor Seamie Morris addressed the large crowd, while Deputy Michael Lowry, who also participated in the march, was not invited to speak.

Deputy Kelly, who is credited as bringing the new St. Conlon's build to Nenagh, was echoed by Cllr. Morris, with both calling for the staff and residents to be permitted access to the entire new building as was originally envisioned.

Deputy Kelly urged people not to accept the repurposing of the €24-million new unit and Cllr. Morris said the issue will be a critical factor in the upcoming local elections.

A previous suggestion by Deputy Lowry for a temporary shared use of the facility was criticised by both speakers. His proposal would see the current 23 patients and the staff at St. Conlon's relocate to the upper floor of the new building and the 25 beds on the ground floor be made available on a temporary basis as "step-down beds" to alleviate the chronic overcrowding in UHL.

Responding on local radio on Tuesday, Deputy Lowry accused Deputy Kelly of "sacrificing" Roscrea's Dean Maxwell Community Nursing Home to advance the creation of a new 50-bed unit in Nenagh.

"He took the credit for the 50-bed unit for Nenagh, but what he didn't tell anybody at the time was that he had sold out on Dean Maxwell in Roscrea by diverting the Roscrea beds to Nenagh - so the only reason you have a 50-bed unit in Nenagh is because he had sacrificed and abandoned Dean Maxwell", Deputy Lowry told Fran Curry's Tipp Today show on Tuesday morning. 

"If you ask any official in the HSE they will tell you that he abandoned the Dean Maxwell to get the 50-bed unit in Nenagh and forgot about the staff, the patients and the public of Roscrea", Deputy Lowry said.
Deputy Lowry said he has withdrawn his proposal to divide the new building in Nenagh and will assist in advancing the popular proposal to reverse the HSE's decision. 

Protestors at the Nenagh march which was blessed with beautiful weather on Saturday last 

Union representatives from the Irish Nursing and Midwives Organisation (INMO), FORSA and SIPTU are to meet with HSE officials this week to seek a compromise that would see the existing 23 residents move into the new facility as soon as possible.

The protest was also supported by the Save Nenagh A&E campaign which is part of the Midwest Hospital Campaign and want to see another emergency department opened in the region.

A spokesman for the HSE CHO 3 region said the tender process is on-going to find a provider and that the new unit will also take rehabilitation patients from Nenagh Hospital.

“The benefit of having access to rehabilitation and sub-acute care for our elderly population in North Tipperary and across the wider region cannot be underestimated,” he said.

“Older people will avail of the right care and closer to their own homes and communities. Inpatient rehabilitation has many positive impacts, not least because it enables recovery of the older person, meaning they can live an independent life, for longer, in their own homes and reduce the overall risk of readmission to acute hospital.”

He reiterated this is a temporary plan, and said: “It is fully intended that the staff and residents of St Conlon’s will move to the CNU once the required additional staff are in place.”

The trade unions are also opposed to HSE plans to hire a private operator to run the Step Down Facility rather than directly managing the facility which is located adjacent to Nenagh hospital.

A meeting between the HSE and the staff at St Conlan’s is planned for May 20th and campaigners say they will continue to fight against the decision to repurpose the new building.