On Monday, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny officially opened the brand new Ballina Primary Care Centre in Ballina, the first of its kind in the county. The centre, which is a venture between Drs Tom and Sean Moffatt in partnership with the HSE, will provide primary care services to a large number of people in the Ballina area.
A large crowd of locals and public representatives including Dep John O’Mahony, Dep Michelle Mulherin, and former minister of State Dep Dara Calleary along with local councillors were at the official opening. The care centre will see six GPs operate out of the centre, along with a public health nurse, a registered general nurse, a dietician, a occupational therapist, speech and language therapist and physiotherapist. In his official opening speech Taoiseach Kenny also indicated that in the near future a mental health professional would also be in situ at the centre. He said, “I am delighted to be here today to officially open this magnificent Primary Care Centre in Ballina. The Government agenda is to place emphasis on primary care and this centre is part of the HSE development programme. I wish the multi-disciplinary team here every success for the future.”
Speaking at the official opening of the new Ballina Primary Care Centre Laverne McGuinness, HSE national director, Integrated Services Directorate, said, “Primary care health services are the first point of contact for people and include services such as GPs, public health nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, practice nurses, and primary care dieticians. This Primary Care Centre will allow the public to have easy access to an increased range of services based in the one location, close to home. It is hoped that only those who need the specialist services available in an acute hospital will need to go to the hospital setting. The development of primary care teams is a key element of our national plan for developing community based health services.”
