Roscrea's new public nursing home included in HSE's Capital Plan

Funding required to create a new 50-bed public nursing home on a greenfield site in Roscrea will be included in the HSE's national capital investment plan, a Tipperary TD confirmed this week.

Speaking on Tuesday, Labour Tipperary TD, Alan Kelly, confirmed the good news for Roscrea, where the potential loss of the town's Dean Maxwell Community Nursing Home had sparked a decades-long campaign to preserve the town's only public facility.

Currently potentially suitable sites to create a new Dean Maxwell facility are being examined and news the new building has been included in the health executive's long-term funding plans has been widely welcomed as another positive step towards ensuring long-term care continues in Roscrea.

"Yesterday at a meeting with the HSE it was confirmed to me that Roscrea will be part of a package of new nursing homes that will be announced as part of a HSE Capital investment plan in nursing homes that will be a component of the renewed national development plan, whose launch is imminent", Deputy Alan Kelly said after meeting representatives from the health executive on Monday.

"This is good news for the people of Roscrea after decades of campaigning. The key issue now is that the HSE needs to find a site in Roscrea to build this new nursing home", he added.

"It is still a long road ahead but at least now we have certainty that it is part of a new national development plan that will fund a HSE Capital plan for nursing homes. Given the changing demographics in Ireland and the increase in need for elderly care this plan is badly needed. I look forward to working with the HSE on delivering this over the coming years", Deputy Kelly said.

The current Dean Maxwell facility, located adjacent to St Cronan's RC Church in Roscrea town centre, has 20 long-stay beds and two palliative care beds and the new 50-bed unit will more than double the present bed capacity, future proofing Roscrea to cater for the growing population of the town.

The HSE considered the possibility of replacing the existing Dean Maxwell Unit on its current site, a spokesperson said, but the landlocked site proved not feasible for redevelopment.

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“It would not be feasible to construct a modern facility that would satisfy HIQA regulations within the site’s constraints. Additionally, current residents at the Dean Maxwell Unit would be displaced during reconstruction works, even if a suitable replacement on the existing site was possible.”

Considering these factors, the HSE decided to seek capital approval to identify a greenfield site close to the Dean Maxwell Unit and the HSE Mid West commenced work on the identification of a site within the Roscrea area in March.