HSE reassures residents on St Joseph's Hospital

The HSE has moved to reassure residents of St Joseph's Hospital in Trim that the future of the facility will not be impacted by the opening of the new Community Nursing Unit in Navan. Residents of St Joseph's Hospital in Trim and their families received an information presentation last week on the facilities available at the new replacement for the county infirmary in Navan, should any resident want to be transferred to the new purpose-built facility in Navan. The information presentations, which took place in St Joseph's on Thursday and Sunday, gave details of the facilities and services that will be available in the new purpose-built Residential Services for Older People at the Navan Community Nursing Unit, on the old Athboy Road. "This was an opportunity for residents and their families to consider if this new unit would be more suited to their needs. Navan town is centrally located within County Meath and may be more suitable for some residents and their families. This was purely an information presentation and it is not our intention to transfer any resident to the new unit unless at the request of our resident and their family," a HSE spokesperson said. Cllr Ray Butler, who attended the meeting, said it was an information meeting and that the plans for the new community nursing facility were on display. The HSE representatives also took questions from the floor. There had been some fears expressed locally that the future of St Joseph's Hospital could be in doubt but Cllr Butler said the HSE had given assurances that the long-term future of the facility is secure when he asked that question. He asked why there had been no admissions since last October and Cllr Butler said he was told the HSE wanted to bring the facilities up to HIQA standards and give patients more space. He added that the meeting was told that funding would be in place to upgrade the facilities in Trim to give more space to patients. There are currently 120 residents in St Joseph's Hospital and the new community nursing facility in Navan has been designed for a total capacity of 50 residents. The HSE has confirmed that capital funds will be available to fund the upgrading of St Joseph's to ensure compliance with HIQA requirements. Cllr Butler also asked the meeting if there would be any redundancies and was told there would be no job losses, though some staff may transfer to Navan. "Assurances were also given that if any patient decides to transfer to Navan but find they don't like it, they will be able to transfer back to Trim. There will be more discussions and meetings in the coming weeks," said Cllr Butler. "I welcome that now representatives of the HSE have come out and given us a plan for the long-term future of St Joseph's in Trim. It is a very important part of the community and it would be a disaster to Trim if the biggest employer in the town closed. "We have been assured of the long-term future of St Joseph's, which is a brilliant facility that the town of Trim badly needs," said the local Fine Gael councillor.