A proposal to build a 50 bed mental health unit on an already congested UHG site is senseless when a “perfect location” exists among 150 acres at Merlin Park, a former vice chairperson of the HSE West’s regional health forum claimed this week.
Cllr Catherine Connolly told the meeting at Merlin Park on Tuesday that someone must call a halt to the overdevelopment of the regional hospital site and “let sense prevail”.
“Management confirmed once again that they are proceeding with the plan to put up a new 50 bed mental health unit on what is a very congested regional hospital site and ignoring the 150 acres of green land at Merlin Park which would be a perfect location for such a unit.
“Moreover the decision involves the closure of a modern 22 bed unit in Ballinasloe which was refurbished recently at a cost of €3 million, a decision which has caused uproar in the Ballinasloe area including among the clinical teams working there.”
She claims “no application has ever been made” to the Department of Health for funding for development at Merlin Park.
“It makes no sense and it makes a mockery of local democracy to ignore cross party concerns and for the HSE West to confirm that it is full steam ahead.”
She says the 15 acre UHG site cannot sustain additional development. “Indeed the need to relocate the helipad for six months to the Shantalla Community Park - at a cost of a quarter of million euro to facilitate the construction of a two storey car park - highlights how unsustainable the plans for further development on this site are. The new car park will not add one additional car park space for the public and/or staff and is going up simply to replace the car park spaces that will be lost when the new 50 bed mental health unit is built.”
The mental health unit is only one of the many further developments planned for the congested city hospital site, she believes.
“Again management are not in a position to say whether the construction of other projects will also involve the moving of the helipad. None of it makes sense when 150 acres of green land are available at Merlin Park.”
