Island’s community care hospital under threat

FEARS are growing for a 120-year-old island community care hospital, with relatives saying their loved ones will not be willing to leave what has been a home to them, in some cases, for decades.

The HSE said it will support the facility, but it does not fund it directly. Valentia Community Hospital in Knightstown is managed by a local voluntary organisation. Its 16 beds are funded by the HSE through the Fair Deal scheme.

Changes to the scheme means there is a finance shortfall and no solution has been found, although discussions have been ongoing since June between the HSE and the hospital’s directors.