Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Frank Feighan for raising this important issue. I know he is committed to developing services for senior citizens, health services and disability services in the Roscommon area.

Although it is Government policy to facilitate older people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible, there will always be a cohort of people who need long-term care. Quality residential care must continue to be available to those who need it. We are strongly in favour of choice with regard to services for senior citizens. Public residential care units are a significant and crucial part of our framework of services for older people. They provide more than 5,000 long-stay beds, amounting to approximately 20% of the total stock of nursing home beds nationally. The standard of care delivered to residents in these units is generally very high but we recognise and accept that many of our public units are housed in buildings that are less than ideal in the modern context.

The HSE is responsible for the delivery of health and personal social services, including those at facilities such as Sacred Heart Hospital in Roscommon. The hospital was registered with HIQA in 2015 for a period of three years with the maximum occupancy of 95 people. The beds provided by nursing homes such as Sacred Heart Hospital are an essential part of our health care infrastructure.The beds provided by nursing homes like the Sacred Heart home in Roscommon represent an essential part of our health care infrastructure. Without them, many older people would not have access to the care they need. Therefore, it is essential for them to be put on a sustainable footing and for the fabric of the buildings from which they operate to be modernised and improved.

The capital programme that was announced last year is one of the most comprehensive programmes of investment in public nursing home facilities ever undertaken by the State. It provides for the replacement and refurbishment of 90 public nursing homes across the country. Significant work was undertaken by the HSE to determine the most appropriate scheduling of projects over the five-year period from 2016 to 2021, within the phased provision of funding, to achieve compliance and registration with the Health Information and Quality Authority. Under this capital programme, it is proposed to deliver a new community nursing unit at the Sacred Heart home by 2021. This project will replace existing beds where the physical environment requires significant improvement. Like all health care infrastructure developments, this project requires a lead-in time to complete its various stages, including appraisal, project brief, design feasibility, review of costing estimates and finalisation of financing. This project is at the appraisal stage. The HSE expects that construction will begin in 2020 and will be completed and operational by 2021. The works, when completed, will ensure the hospital’s long and proud tradition will continue well into the future.