Plans for a brand new 40-bed hospital in Clifden to serve Connemara will be submitted to Galway County Council before the summer, it was revealed yesterday (Wednesday )
This new build will be a state of the art community nursing unit (CNU ) which will amalgamate the residential services currently in Clifden District Hospital and St. Anne’s CNU. It will also will allow long-term care (currently provided in St. Anne’s ) and convalescence/step-down care (currently provided in Clifden District Hospital ) on the one site.
It will also allow long-term care (currently provided in St. Anne’s ) and convalescence/step-down care (currently provided in Clifden District Hospital ) on the one site. The future of the Clifden facility has been the cause of much concern in North Connemera over the past while, but news that a planning application is imminent will be welcomed.
Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Health Hildegarde Naughton has revealed that the HSE will submit the planning application to Galway County Council in the coming months for this much needed facility.
“I know there has been much anxiety in the locality about service provision and I am happy to be able to confirm that this new facility will shortly advance to planning,” she said.
“New services are also being rolled out in Clifden, with the Integrated Care Programme for Older People (ICPOP ) outreach clinics commencing in January this year. These will continue to run twice a month, incorporating Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Dietetics and Nursing.
“The aim is to develop and implement integrated services and pathways for older people with complex health and social care needs, shifting the delivery of care away from acute hospitals towards community based, planned and coordinated care,” according to Minister Naughton.
“There are also plans to operate Chronic Disease Outreach Clinics in Clifden District Hospital, thus negating the need for people to travel into Galway for such care. All of the services now, or shortly to be provided, accord with the principles of Sláintecare, which I helped draft.
“These are to provide the right care to the right person in the right place. Introducing the Integrated Care Programme for Older People into Clifden District Hospital is an example of bring enhanced services closer to communities”, she added.
