26 January 2016, Tuesday
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Fine Gael TD for Cork South West, Noel Harrington, has said that the announcement of €17.87m for Community Hospitals in West Cork will make a significant difference for elderly people in our communities.
Noel Harrington TD (Fine Gael)
“7 Community Hospitals in West Cork – Castletownbere, Dunmanway, Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Kinsale and Bantry are to receive €17.87m in funding for upgrades and refurbishment. “This is a hugely significant investment for our Community Hospitals in West Cork, and reflects the Government’s determination to maintain the current numbers of public nursing home beds and to ensure all Community Hospitals will be compliant with HIQA standards by 2021. I have often raised this issue with the Minister, most recently in a Parliamentary Question last September.
“I am confident that this investment will re-assure our communities, particularly those who care for and who are ill and/or infirm, and it will allow those who require care and support, to remain within the area and close to their families at their most vulnerable stage of their lives.
“This is part of planned national investment for 90 centres, which between them have 4,723 beds, between now and 2021. This includes the replacement of 33 existing facilities and refurbishment or extension of 57 others. This programme of investment will also deliver 215 additional beds.
“The investment is made up of €148 million in the current HSE capital plan and a further €237 million from the Capital Investment Plan. Ten facilities worth €150 million are also being funded by public private partnerships (PPP).
“The majority of residents in Community Hospitals in West Cork receive an excellent quality of care but some of the facilities available are not up to date. This funding will ensure that the best facilities are available for residents and their families in the future.
“This also displays that this Government’s commitment to investing in our rural communities and in our local health facilities. We will continue to work to ensure that funding is available for important services like nursing homes and health care. Fine Gael has a long term plan to keep the recovery going. Our plan will deliver more new jobs, spread right across the country, jobs that pay more than welfare, where hard work is rewarded. The plan will also deliver affordable, sustainable investments in services, like nursing homes, using the resources from growing employment.”
