Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues in raising genuine concerns about the discontinuation of vital day services at the Raheen and Regina House community nursing home units. Yesterday I received a response from the chief executive officer of the mid-west community health care team which confirmed that the temporary closure of these units had not been influenced by the availability of financial resources but by the unavailability of nursing staff in the next few weeks.

Factors such as annual leave, sick leave and the unavailability of agency staff were cited.

The day care centres at Raheen and Regina House community nursing units provide wonderful services to older people in both east and west Clare. Not enough credit or priority is given to day care centres in terms of their role in delivering our national health service. The provision and development of community-friendly day care services offers a real and significant win-win situation to the client and the State as keeping people at home for longer avoids clogging up residential care settings.

It is highly regrettable that staff and clients at Raheen and Regina House community nursing units were informed at 2.30 p.m. last Friday that their respective day care centres would not open the following Monday. This action poses questions in terms of the staffing roster. Surely the roster for these day care centres are put together monthly. Why could the clients and staff not be told earlier? What efforts are being made to recruit new nursing staff? The bottom line is when these units will be reopened. Will the Minister of State assure the House today that these temporary closures will not happen again?

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