Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail)
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My Commencement matter is on when the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar will see day services reopen and resume for citizens in County Mayo. This hospital holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Castlebar and Mayo and has been providing services, including inpatient stay, rehabilitation and day services, for decades in the county town. Almost all families in Mayo have had cause at some stage or other to use the facilities at this hospital. In 2019 we were delighted to officially open what was a new facility following €30 million of investment into the hospital. Day services were closed at the hospital during the pandemic, which was understandable at the time, but we are now post the emergency phase of the pandemic and most services across the country have reopened. However, we still do not have day services operational in the Sacred Heart Hospital and this beggars belief. We were told last year that the HSE expected to reopen day services midway through quarter 1 of 2022. That date has come and gone and we are no closer to the reopening of those services.

Why have day services remained closed? What is the short-term plan to get services reopened? What is the Minister of State expecting to do for families and elderly persons in the county who badly need these services and who have been left with no alternative, unless they can pay privately, which most people cannot afford to do? What is the plan to get this service reopened? Why, when have we built a brand-new facility, are we now being told that the facility cannot accommodate day services because of changes in regulation? It does not make sense or add up and the people of Castlebar and Mayo are wondering when they will get their day services reopened.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Chambers for raising the important issue of the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar. I know she has consistently raised issues around the importance of the hospital in the Chamber, behind the scenes and directly with the Minister. It is a key priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and the Government to allow more people to engage in services that allow them to remain independent and live in their homes with dignity and independence for as long as possible. The HSE has operational responsibility for planning, managing and delivering health and personal social services, including day centres. These services are fundamental to the health and well-being of our older population. Just yesterday, my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, Deputy Butler, had a high-level meeting with her officials requesting progress on this subject. Access to the centres can make an important contribution by providing invaluable support, advice and social interaction for older people who may, for any number of reasons, be experiencing isolation and loneliness. They play a key role in enabling older people to live independently within their own communities. It remains a priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to ensure that day centres reopen as quickly and as safely as possible following their necessary closure in 2020 in response to Covid-19. The process for reopening day centres commenced in 2021, and the HSE continues to actively work on their reopening for older people as a priority, in line with current public health guidance. The HSE has allocated €6.5 million to community health organisations, CHOs, from within existing resources to facilitate the reopening of day care services for older people. In addition, €925,000 once-off funding was allocated to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland to assist with the operation of their dementia day-care services. This funding will support existing services to reopen and, in some, cases expand their services.

At the end of April, 264 centres for older people had reopened, which represents 80% of centres, and it is planned that a further 14 will reopen this month. There are two day services operating in Castlebar at present. Castlebar Social Services day service and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland are continuing to offer a service at home. However, day services at the Sacred Heart have not reopened. The HSE has advised the Department that it is making continuous efforts to source alternative accommodation. The social services space that was considered suitable for day services on the ground floor did not materialise because they rented the space to another day service. An alternative space located on the upper floor was reviewed by Community Healthcare West, but unfortunately it was deemed unsuitable. As infection prevention control, IPC, guidelines have now changed, an alternative space on the Sacred Heart Hospital campus is being pursued. The provision of a day service for the elderly on the Sacred Heart Hospital campus in Castlebar is preferable from an operational, governance and value for money perspective. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has advised me that the HSE is actively pursuing an interim arrangement for the summer and is exploring all options for a permanent space for Sacred Heart Hospital day services.

Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Some of what he said is very welcome. It is great that €6.5 million has been allocated to CHOs across the State to get these day services up and running and that €925,000 was provided to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. However, it still begs the question as to why a new facility that was opened in 2019 is not being reopened. We have all of this money being put into getting day centres back up and running - some 80% have reopened and 40 more are due to reopen - so why is the Castlebar facility not reopening? What is the problem? It cannot simply just be a case of not being able to find the right building. There are other locations. We still cannot get an answer to that question. How will we have a new facility if it is not fit for purpose to reopen as a day centre? Nobody can seem to answer that question.

I take on board what the Minister of State said about the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, actively exploring interim solutions. We were told that last year, and it still has not materialised. I know of one family in particular where it actually accelerated their decision to put their loved one into full-time nursing home care because they could not cope at home. That was after two long years of the pandemic when there were literally no services for people caring for loved ones with dementia. What is happening is forcing people into that. It is a Government priority and a Government policy to facilitate people staying in their own homes for as long as possible because we believe in that option for people, and to provide that dignity for them to stay at home. This was not an option for the family to which I refer. The situation is the same for many other families.

I am looking for more concrete timelines. What are the interim arrangements being explored? When can we expect an update as to what they are, what they will look like and when they will be available? What is the long-term prospect of reopening day services at the hospital? Somebody needs to ask the question, and I am asking it here today. When a new facility was built and reopened, why was it not fit for purpose to provide day services? It seems as though the ball was dropped when that facility was constructed and that design was done, that it could not cater for updating of guidelines. Surely, when we opened a facility in 2019, it should have been a long-term facility that can cater for at least the next 50 to 60 years. That seems to not have happened. I would appreciate if the Minister of State had any more detail at all about the interim arrangements being explored and when we could see those services back up and running.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Chambers again for raising this very important issue regarding the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar. The Senator has consistently pursued the importance of this facility.

On the more specific points, I will certainly raise those with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I will ask her to engage with Senator Chambers on it. As the Senator rightly pointed out, it is a priority. It is a policy of this Government to help as many people as possible to stay at home, and to be able to do so with dignity and with the services they need to be able to stay at home.The HSE has prioritised and will continue to prioritise the reopening of day-care centres for older people. This focus has been on both directly operated HSE day-care centres and day-care services provided under grant-aid funding by the HSE.

I reiterate the HSE has assured the Department it is exploring every option for a permanent space for Sacred Heart Hospital day services and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has asked her officials to monitor the position over the coming months. It is hoped interim arrangements will be put in place for the summer. I will certainly ask her to keep Senator Chambers up to date on all the steps and details relating to the issue.