Senator Aisling Dolan - Strong Voice, New Vision.
Excellent news this morning for two Roscommon Hospitals!
The Sacred Heart Hospital & Care Home in Roscommon will see funding of €0.95 million for the initial stages for design & construction of a replacement 50 bed unit. This is so crucial to bring this long-term residential unit up to standard and deliver patient care.
The Sacred Heart Hospital provides residential, respite and rehabilitation services with physio and OT professionals as well as an activities therapy team. This is much-needed investment to upgrade the care home to HIQA standards for up to 95 patients. Patients, their families and healthcare staff have endured an extremely tough year and half during the pandemic. I would like to pay tribute to the Director of Nursing, her staff and volunteers for everything they have done for residents in very difficult circumstances.
The Rehabilitation Unit at Roscommon University Hospital also receives €400,000 for Stage 1 and 10 beds. This is a fantastic addition to the hospital which already has significant expertise at a national level in Plastics as well as the Mayo Roscommon Hospice construction of an 8-bed unit beside the hospital as well. Roscommon will be only the 2nd place in Ireland after National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Dún Laoghaire, to offer a centre of excellence in rehabilitative care. Roscommon University Hospital is taking a national lead in providing specialist and complex care to patients who have a physical or cognitive disability due to illness or injury. People in the West and Midlands will have a choice and no longer have to travel to Dublin to get the rehabilitative care they need
Roscommon will be only the 2nd place in Ireland after National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Dún Laoghaire, to offer a centre of excellence in rehabilitative care. Roscommon University Hospital is taking a national lead in providing specialist and complex care to patients who have a physical or cognitive disability due to illness or injury. People in the West and Midlands will have a choice and no longer have to travel to Dublin to get the rehabilitative care they need,
In total €1.35 million in 2021 for Co. Roscommon under the HSE Capital Plan under Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.
With the largest health budget ever announced by government last year, we have to make it count for our most vulnerable and to ensure that we are prioritising care in regional areas as well as our urban centres. I look forward to the integration of primary care and hospitals through Sláíntecare as well as the investment in ehealth to digitise our health service.
This significant investment in Roscommon will make it unique out of the 7 hospitals in the Saolta Health Care Group in terms of rehabilitative expertise.
