Locals furious over vacant nursing home

HUNDREDS of Southside residents have signed a petition calling on the HSE to open a multi-million euro nursing home that has been vacant since it was built in 2010 because of the public sector recruitment embargo.

Over 500 people in the Inchicore area have signed a petition calling on the HSE to open the 50-bed Hollybrook community nursing home, which was completed in 2010 on the site of St Michael’s Estate in Inchicore.

The unit, which cost over e12 million to build, was commissioned by the HSE as a step down facility for the elderly to free up beds in the city’s major hospitals.

As part of an agreement between local people, the Regeneration Board of St Michael’s Estate, local politicians and the HSE, around half of the 50 beds would also have been ring-fenced for elderly patients from the local community.

Clare Hogan, from Goldenbridge, who signed the petition, said her family was having difficulty in finding a place in local nursing homes for her elderly aunt who suffers from dementia.

“We have been trying to get my aunt into a nursing home for some time now,

? she said.

“I just can’t fathom why this new unit has not been opened.

“It could even be opened up for respite care. There is a large elderly population in the area. My aunt’s home help hours were cut recently and we have had no choice but to apply to get her into a nursing home. The waiting lists are so long and here is a place that could provide these services.

?

Treasa Berry, from Inchicore, who also signed the petition, said if the nursing unit was opened it would ease pressure on the emergency department in nearby St James’s Hospital.

“We are just down the road here from St James’s Hospital and I have been in the Accident and Emergency on a number of occasions with my children, and the overcrowding that staff and patients have to put up with is dreadful,

? she said.

“If many of these elderly people are in hospital, they are bed blocking and are just taking up beds that somebody else could be using when the elderly patients could be in this new nursing home.

?

David Walsh, the manager of the HSE Dublin South West area, recently revealed they were exploring the possibility of opening the vacant nursing home through apublic private partnership process (PPS).

“Work is currently underway to examine the use of a public-private partnership model to operate this unit,

? he said.

“The HSE has successfully used this model to open a 100-bed unit for older persons at Ballincollig, Co Cork and this unit delivers real cost benefits and value to the system which would not be possible through direct employment.

?

Cllr Criona Ni Dhalaigh (SF) said party members decided to draft the petition because of the level of anger about the issue locally.

“It is totally unacceptable that they would spend e12.2 million of taxpayers’ money on a unit that was intended for a state of the art nursing unit and then not open it,

? she said.

In addition, she said she did not believe it would be suitable to open the nursing home by employing a public private partnership process.

She noted that proposals for the regeneration of five large housing estates and flat complexes in the city council area, including plans for St Michael’s Estate that were earmarked for delivery through the PPP process, had collapsed.

“My experience of PPPs has been total failure,

? she said.

“I am very apprehensive about the PPP model,

? she added.

A spokeswoman for the HSE referred Southside People to a response issued recently by David Walsh on foot of a question on the matter submitted by Cllr Ni Dhalaigh to the Dublin Mid Leinster Regional Health Forum.

“Staff involved in the commissioning of the Inchicore unit are currently examining all aspects of the Ballincollig agreement with a view to drafting a proposal to open the new unit using a similar agreement,

? he said.

“In addition, staff representative bodies will have to be consulted and allowed an opportunity to put forward other viable means of opening the unit.

?

“If many of these elderly people are in hospital, they are bed blocking and are just taking up beds that somebody else could be using when the elderly patients could be in this new nursing home.

?

David Walsh, the manager of the HSE Dublin South West area, recently revealed they were exploring the possibility of opening the vacant nursing home through a public private partnership process (PPS).

“Work is currently underway to examine the use of a public-private partnership model to operate this unit,

? he said.

“The HSE has successfully used this model to open a 100-bed unit for older persons at Ballincollig, Co Cork and this unit delivers real cost benefits and value to the system which would not be possible through direct employment.

?

Cllr Criona Ni Dhalaigh (SF) said party members decided to draft the petition because of the level of anger about the issue locally.

“It is totally unacceptable that they would spend e12.2 million of taxpayers’ money on a unit that was intended for a state of the art nursing unit and then not open it,

? she said.

In addition, she said she did not believe it would be suitable to open the nursing home by employing a public private partnership process.

She noted that proposals for the regeneration of five large housing estates and flat complexes in the city council area, including plans for St Michael’s Estate that were earmarked for delivery through the PPP process, had collapsed.

“My experience of PPPs has been total failure,

? she said.

“I am very apprehensive about the PPP model,

? she added.

A spokeswoman for the HSE referred Southside People to a response issued recently by David Walsh on foot of a question on the matter submitted by Cllr Ni Dhalaigh to the Dublin Mid Leinster Regional Health Forum.

“Staff involved in the commissioning of the Inchicore unit are currently examining all aspects of the Ballincollig agreement with a view to drafting a proposal to open the new unit using a similar agreement,

? he said.

“In addition, staff representative bodies will have to be consulted and allowed an opportunity to put forward other viable means of opening the unit.

?