Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to assure the Deputy that the Health Service Executive, South-East Community Healthcare (SECH) area remains committed to providing quality health services for the population of Carrick-on-Suir and its environs.

Following the discontinuation in 2020 of short-stay inpatient care at the St. Brigid’s District Hospital building, when the hospital was designated as a COVID-19 step down facility, it was important to ensure that St. Brigid’s would not lie idle and underutilised. It was equally important to ensure that St. Brigid’s remained an asset to the local community in Carrick-on-Suir.

In order to preserve the community ethos at the existing St. Brigid’s Hospital site, it was determined that St. Brigid’s would be utilised as a hub for integrated Enhanced Community Care (ECC), incorporating both Integrated Care for Older Persons and Chronic Disease management. The ECC Programme aims to deliver increased levels of healthcare with service delivery reoriented towards general practice, primary care, and community-based services. The focus is on end-to-end pathways that will prevent admissions to acute hospitals where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

The HSE's development of health services at the St. Brigid’s Primary Care Campus in Carrick-on-Suir (which incorporates St. Brigid’s Hospital and the state of the art, purpose built, Primary Care Centre) has seen the provision of the following services: Public Health Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Dietetics Outreach, Registration for Births, Deaths and Marriages, Area Medical Officer, Mental Health services, an Ante-natal clinic which is provided by Tipperary University Hospital, Diabetic retinal screening, Social Workers, Older Persons services coordinator and Health Promotion.

There are also many further supports in place to meet the health and care demands of the local community in Carrick-on-Suir and surrounding areas.

Those who require convalescent, respite and/or palliative care services are being supported in alternative settings in the South Tipperary area including St Theresa’s Hospital Clogheen, HSE Cluain Arann in Tipperary town, HSE St Anthony’s Unit Clonmel and private nursing homes.

Two private Nursing Home beds, on contract to the HSE, provide respite to individuals in the Community. The provision of respite maintains an individual in the Community and contributes to hospital avoidance. These beds are closely monitored to ensure maximum utilisation.

There is ongoing close liaison between South-East Community Healthcare (SECH) Services for Older People and Acute Hospital Services. SECH Older Persons services continue to support our acute colleagues in both hospital avoidance and in the delivery of services to individuals post an acute episode.

Tipperary University Hospital are advised of both short (convalescent and palliative) and long stay residential vacancies within Older Persons services on a daily basis thus facilitating the transfer of inpatients to either of these residential settings.

The Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons and the Frailty at the Front Door programmes support either the frail older person to remain at home or to be discharged early, should they be admitted to acute services.

Home Support also prioritises the allocation of home support services to those within acute services in order to facilitate early discharge.

In relation to the roll-out of further services in St. Brigid’s, I would like to inform the Deputy that South-East Community Healthcare Primary Care will continue to explore options while developing and expanding the current services in an integrated manner with all care groups and acute colleagues.