Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I rise to raise the issue of Bandon Community Hospital and to acknowledge the tremendous work done by our former Seanad colleague, Peter Callanan, over many years in trying to resolve the issue.

Bandon Community Hospital is a single storey building dating back to 1929. It is run by the HSE and has undergone some renovations and modifications over the years. The facility and staff provide respite and palliative care for 22 elderly people of mixed dependency. The hospital serves the people of Bandon town and the wider community, covering a 12 to 15 mile radius ranging from as far as Clonakilty to Kinsale and therefore serves a community of approximately 33,000 people. A private nursing home in the area closed at the end of January last year which was a huge loss to the area. The hospital has a number of bedroom units and has only four single bed units.

For the past 25 years the issue of Bandon Community Hospital being extended to cater for an ever increasing and dependent population has been discussed and a sequence of events has followed. In 2004 the final draft of the proposal sent by the hospital was eventually agreed by the Southern Health Board and in 2005 and 2006 it was deemed a priority. In December 2006 a design for the extension was prepared and in May 2006, almost seven years ago, the allocation of the funds for the extension were granted to the HSE. In 2007-08 the design was finalised and planning permission was applied for to build the extension in June 2008. In December 2008, following a six months delay to facilitate an archaelogical dig as a condition of planning, Cork County Council granted planning permission for an extension to the hospital. In the same year the HSE was instructed that no new projects were to commence due, unfortunately, to a reduced allocation. In 2009-12 HIQA inspections continually cited to the HSE that the facility is not adequate for the service it provides. Given that HIQA inspections will not be getting any more lenient, I advise the Minister of State - I am glad has come to the House to reply this matter - that my concern is that this important community hospital for the town of Bandon will close.

In other words, there is a very strong case for the upgrading and extending of this hospital. I note from figures for the area and having regard to the population served by the hospital and HIQA standards, which provide that there should be 6.4 beds for every 1,000 persons over the age of 65, that this would mean that the hospital in Bandon would need to cater for 50 people. The current facility with the capacity to cater for 22 people is not appropriate.

I was delighted that the senior Minister, Deputy James Reilly, visited west Cork last Friday. He visited Bantry hospital and Schull, where I currently live, and he saw the tremendous work that was taking place there, much of which I was involved in over the years. I am aware that these things move slowly but if the proposed extension to Bandon Community Hospital is not addressed in the short term, I am deeply concerned that it may close. The closure of a significant private nursing home in this area recently presents a serious problem in terms of the provision of services. A serious problem is emerging due to the shortage of nursing home beds in the area in which I live and probably in many other areas of the country. I am referring to the private sector where there has been a decline in provision as we moved from the boom to the bust era.