Funding uncertainty hangs over two Limerick healthcare units

UNCERTAINTY yesterday hung over the future of two new residential healthcare units in west Limerick.

It has emerged the cash-strapped HSE has not received funding for 25 staff needed to run the units.

The two new units in Newcastle West have been built at a cost of €4.5 million.

One is for palliative cancer care and the other for patients suffering from dementia. A voluntary fundraising group, Friends of St Ita’s, has raised €1.22m. The group said the delay in approving funding to hire the necessary staff was an “outright tragedy”.

Work on the two units is nearing completion and it is planned to install fittings and furnishings in September.

The HSE said a funding decision by the Department of Health is still awaited.

The Department of Health said a sum of €3m was made available for palliative care development funding nationally, and that equated to approximately 30 posts for the whole country.

The distribution of the funding, according to the department, was a matter for the HSE.

The department said the staffing of the second unit came within the budget for older people and was also a matter for the HSE.

A spokesperson said: “This department is awaiting further information from the HSE prior to approving the posts identified by the HSE. When that information is received, and this is expected within the coming weeks, the department expects to be in a position to issue its approval for the posts identified by the HSE. Chairman of Friends of St Ita’s Fergus Scanlan said: “Tremendous work has gone into this project. The palliative care unit, which was approved by Minister Mary Harney at a meeting in Limerick in 2005, was instrumental in progressing the dementia unit also.”