Tipperary TD welcomes developments on two elderly nursing care homes in Roscrea

The provision of long-stay nursing home beds at Mount Carmel in Roscrea in conjunction with the retention of a range of allied elderly care services at the Dean Maxwell Community Home marks a major move forward for elderly care in Roscrea, according to Tipperary TD Michael Lowry.

"Since the formation of this Government, I have publicly made the provision elderly care in Roscrea my political priority," said Deputy Lowry.

"Maintaining and utilising the cherished Dean Maxwell Home on its existing site is something that is of paramount importance to the people of Roscrea. I have always been very conscious of this fact.

"Making it possible for Roscrea people to stay living in their own town has always made perfect sense to me. Moving older people to facilities in other towns, where visits by family and friends would be made extremely difficult is something I could never have agreed to. The people of Roscrea deserve better than this.

"With the co-operation and commitment of the Sisters at Mount Carmel, the future of elderly residential care in Roscrea is now secure," he said.

In a statement issued by Yvonne O’Neill, national director of community operations within the HSE, and which formed part of Deputy Lowry's statement, it is stated that the HSE has carried out its feasibility assessment to include consideration of stabilisation of long stay bed capacity in north Tipperary for sustainable provision of care and to plan for the future based on population need.  In addition to the feasibility assessment, an evaluation of the site options was also completed by Estates to inform the considerations.

"The purchase of the voluntary run and owned Mount Carmel Nursing Home in Roscrea was considered as part of this feasibility assessment as we are aware that this is the desire of the owners. This centre is a registered charity and the registered provider is the Sisters of Saint Marie Madeleine Postel. The purchase of this centre would maintain the existing residential accommodation in the area (31 registered beds). 

"There are also 12 independent living units on the campus with eight integrated into the nursing home building and 4 on a separate site development.

"The centre is HIQA compliant, centrally located, is a fit for purpose environment and currently provides high quality accommodation, appropriate to the current residents needs with single en-suite bedrooms.

"There is also a variety of communal areas with access to outdoor space, as well as an adjacent modern 6-bedded residence and the original convent building connected to the current Nursing Home, all on the same site.”

Regarding next steps, Ms O’Neill noted: “Myself and the national director of Estates, Paul de Freine, visited Roscrea to view all of the facilities/sites in the immediate area and to discuss the draft Feasibility Assessment, and on the basis of the information, we sought approval through HSE executive management Team to:

"Progress the acquisition of Mount Carmel Nursing Home as a going concern in accordance with the HSE Property Protocol.  In the circumstances, it is likely that a specialised valuation report would be required and to also cover the acquisition of all buildings on the site.  Legal advice would be progressed in relation to tenancy agreements for the independent living units as appropriate.

"Progress the overall service brief for the Roscrea area and scope any capital investment proposals arising for the area.  This will include determining the future plans for the existing HSE facilities such as the current Dean Maxwell Unit (already assessed as a very substandard building) and for the Creagh House site which is due to be vacated by 2024 and also has the potential to provide a new build unit if ownership of the site is retained by the HSE.

"The Mount Carmel site should, therefore, be considered in the context of a multi-location solution for future service delivery including further long-stay beds, specialist dementia care and day services.

"The above requests were approved and through national oversight and advice from our estates colleagues and locally planning through the chief officer and local estates colleagues, the above actions are being progressed.”

"In the context of an anticipated doubling of the over 65 population in Ireland by 2040 and an ageing population, forward planning is essential to meet the needs of the growing proportion of older people who may require long-term residential facilities.

"I believe the purchase of the Mount Carmel Nursing Home site adjacent to the Dean Maxwell building is the correct approach to stabilise long-term residential bed capacity and also address community needs of the local population in Roscrea as close to home as possible.

"I also believe the acquisition of this site will allow for the provision of dementia-specific services in Roscrea."