Today the HSE has moved to clarify the future of the newly built Community Nursing Unit in Nenagh. The HSE accepts that there is significant pressure in respect of overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick which serves Nenagh and says a decision has been made to utilise the new building for a period of about one year as a step down sub-acute facility which will be run by a private provider with expertise in such services. The HSE has now commenced tendering to hire a healthcare provider to manage the facility.
The HSE says this interim use will greatly support the region pending the completion of the first of two new 96 bed blocks for UHL scheduled to be completed in early 2025.
The HSE says it very much welcomes the building of the new Community Nursing Unit in Nenagh and will now be progressing plans for its long-term use as a community nursing unit, including the recruitment for 2025 of the staff needed to run this 50 bed facility. “The current Community Nursing Unit at St Conlon’s will continue during this period.”
It is understood that the newly appointed Regional Executive Officer for the HSE in the Mid West, Sandra Broderick, is seeking additional funding to maintain all existing beds at UHL when the first of the 96 bed blocks of ensuite rooms comes into use. It had been intended to close 48 beds that were located in older style nightingale wards that provide dormitory-style accommodation.
