End of an era as local nursing home closes doors for the last time

IT was the sad end of an era when St Kieran's Nursing Home in Rathcabbin said goodbye to its final residents and staff on Friday November 18.

“It was a sad day today,” said a staff representative, “as we said farewell to our last residents and closed the doors one last time. We want to thank the families and the community for their support during these last few difficult weeks. The phone calls and the emails were all much appreciated. We hope the residents settle well in their new homes. Best of luck to the staff as they start their new adventures. It's the end of an era.”

Provider Representative at St Kieran's was William O'Sullivan. William told the Midland Tribune that some staff members were deeply affected by the closure. “Some of the staff were very upset to be leaving,” he said. “They were upset because they had grown attached to the residents and it was a deep wrench. There were tears rolling down their cheeks as they said goodbye to the residents.”

William said there were 25 members of staff and they have all managed to find jobs elsewhere. He added that the residents have also all been resituated in other nursing homes.

William pointed out that there's a big problem in the Nursing Home situation in general and the State will eventually have to intervene.

“In May,” he remarked, “St Kieran's Nursing Home got planning permission from Tipperary County Council to build an extension and create 52 new beds. We only had 18 residents which was too low a number to keep the Home going. We needed 52 residents to keep it going. However, after May I realised there is an oversupply of nursing home beds in the midlands and we were never going to be able to fill our proposed 52 beds. It just wouldn't work. Therefore we had no choice but to close down.”

He said several nursing homes have closed down over the last couple of years in the region, and he believes more will follow suit. The homes include Kiltormer in Ballinasloe, Elm Grove in Birr, Stella Maris in Athlone, Castle Urvin in Athenry, Brideswell in Roscommon.

“It's hard to fathom that we have this number of closures when there's an aging population but that's the situation. The critical number of residents needed to keep the homes open is too high.

“When a home closes it is a major blow to an area. More should be done to keep them operational even when at a low number of residents.”

One former staff member said St Kieran's was an excellent place. “It had a very homely, welcoming atmosphere,” she said, “and the staff were excellent. This is a really sad day. Good luck to the staff and residents in their new homes. I wish them all health and happiness.”