Despite the economic meltdown and the common perception that plans for a health centre in Clonbrusk were fully long-fingered, a local councillor is confident a smaller version is soon going to be built on its earmarked site between Ashdale Grove and the Arcadia retail park.
A €14 million plan for a primary care unit on this site had been pushed by both the Health Service Executive (HSE ) and Athlone Town Council (ATC ) for the last six years, but this was mothballed with the evaporation of funds in 2009.
However, this week Cllr Kevin “Boxer” Moran, who has been pushing this issue from day one, revealed that the HSE has accepted a tender to build from a developer, permission to build has been granted by the town council, and that the HSE has agreed to lease back the finished facility. Boxer believes “five or six doctors have since signed up” to the unit and he declared :”This is great news for the town”.
Nobody from the HSE was available for comment before going to print.
A primary care unit is recognised internationally as best practice in getting the fullest healthcare to a community, by providing what is essentially a one-stop shop. Reception, administrative, and nursing staff will be common to the unit, and as such, will eradicate duplication for the HSE. The unit may also have some X-ray facilities, obstetrics, a diagnostic lab, community nurses, and maybe even a social worker, all operating out of the one site.
As no official announcement is expected until May, neither the developer nor any of the GPs can be named until then, but it is understood the cost of the project will be between €5m and €6m at today’s prices.
“Lots of people have been giving out about Joe Ruane [the regional HSE manager] but I’m very happy with him,” said Boxer. He referred to the rumours that the HSE was going to sell the site, after it decided to stop progressing the project in 2009.
“I always stood by him. As regards the primary care unit, he always told me he’d see it opened. Now we’ll have a primary care unit on our doorstep,” said a triumphant Boxer.
“My goal has always been the primary care unit. People were sceptical, thinking it would be sold off, and now we have five doctors signed up, and maybe more to follow.”
“I worked very hard for what I do, and if I never see the inside of the council chamber again I’ll be happy. This is the one thing I wanted to happen. I even proposed the sale of the council land to the HSE, and I supported them when people said they were telling lies.”
