Elderly Kerry patients being offered beds as far away as Offaly while new hospital remains idle

The newly built 130-bed community nursing unit in Killarney has not yet been handed over by the HSE, councillors told

The new hospital has been built on the grounds of St Finan's former psychiatric hospital. Picture: Eamonn Keogh 

Elderly patients in Kerry are being offered beds in Cork, Limerick, “and in one case Co Offaly”, while a newly built 130-bed community nursing unit remains idle in Killarney, a council meeting has heard

The HSE has been called on "to publicly clarify the situation" by independent Killarney councillor Brendan Cronin.

Public representatives in Killarney were given a tour of the completed facility 18 months ago, yet it remains unopened, Mr Cronin said.

“Do the HSE realise how frustrating it is to see that empty and then people told their relatives will have to go to Cork, Limerick and in one case Co Offaly?” he asked.

The public needs to know if there was a specific reason why the unit had not yet opened and what that reason was, Cllr John O’Donoghue said.

In a meeting of the Regional Health Forum South West, the HSE said the building would not be handed over to it until the end of the year.

Construction of the unit was part of a public-private partnership and it had not yet been handed over by the developer, the HSE said.

“The Killarney Community Nursing Unit project is part of a public-private partnership development.

"The National HSE Estates Department continues to work closely with the contractor to confirm a revised completion date for the construction phase,” the HSE South West said in a statement to the Irish Examiner.

Local management had been advised they can expect the building will be handed over to the HSE for the next phase of the development “towards the end of Q4 2025”, it added.

"The new facility must also be inspected, assessed, and ultimately registered by Hiqa. This is a legal requirement before we can accept any residents to the new unit,” the forum heard.

Once the contractor hands over the completed building ready for registration, the HSE would be able to share a more detailed timeline. 

“Transfer of services to the new unit will take place as soon as possible,” the HSE said.

Construction began on the unit on the grounds of St Finan’s former psychiatric hospital in late 2022. The new unit, with private en-suite rooms, therapy suites and communal spaces, was set to be completed in late 2024 and commissioned in early 2025, the health authority previously said.

The Killarney unit is part of a bundle of seven sites nationally being delivered under a public-private partnership contract.

This article was funded by the Local Democracy Scheme