Fears of cuts to respite services

THE HSE has insisted no decision has been made regarding respite care in North Tipperary, after a local TD claimed there is a “serious threat” to services in the county.

Reports suggest services at the Community Hospital of the Assumption (CHOA) in Thurles are being reviewed as part of the HSE’s continuing efforts to reduce expenditure in the mid-west.

Furthermore, there are concerns in the Nenagh area, from where respite services at the St Conlon’s Road Community Nursing Unit were transferred to Thurles earlier this year.

The HSE said, at the time, the transfer from the 33-bed Nenagh facility was only temporary and had not resulted in any reduction in services to local respite patients.

The HSE, this week, said it is reorganising the delivery of services in the mid-west to reduce its expenditure in the region but “no decision has been finalised” regarding respite services in Nenagh or Thurles.

However, Thurles-based TD Michael Lowry said there is “serious threat” to the provision of respite care in both areas because the HSE is refusing to properly staff the CHOA. He said the health authority’s plans for reducing expenditure are concentrated on respite care at the Thurles hospital, and would result in the loss of “a minimum of 10” beds.

This, he said, would result in respite patients being no longer able to gain regular admission to the CHOA.

Mr Lowry described the proposals as an “assault on a service renowned for its efficiency and effectiveness right around the county”.