HSE seeks new site for Athlone primary care centre project

The HSE has unveiled brand new plans to establish a Primary Care Centre in Athlone with GPs on board, despite the fact that local doctors recently opted out of a similar venture in Clonbrusk. Last week the HSE advertised seeking expressions of interest from individuals or the business community to develop Primary Care infrastructure in over 150 locations nationwide including Athlone, Monksland and Ballymahon throwing the possibility that centres could be built in the three areas in the years to come. The proviso for all projects, however is that local GP"s must have signed up for it to proceed, which makes the Athlone centre an unlikely starter considering that many local doctors have made other arrangements with a number of GP"s moving into new purpose built centres in recent times. The news is evidence that the Clonbrusk site will now house a more general health campus, rather than any primary care facility. In a statement to Westmeath Independent, the HSE said as part of the development of Primary Care Teams across the country, the Estates Department within the HSE are seeking expressions of interests from interested parties who may be willing to build or have accommodation that would be used as accommodation for Primary Care Teams. The HSE would subsequently rent this space for HSE staff. Parties expressing an interest must have the sign up of local GPs in order for the project to proceed, the statement added. Earlier this summer the original plans to develop a new Primary Care at Clonbrusk in Athlone were put on hold after local doctors opted out of the long running project throwing the future of the entire project in to uncertainty. However, again this week the HSE again reiterated their commitment to progressing the Clonbrusk project without the GPs, commenting that Primary Care refers to care provided outside a hospital setting and as such, any profession providing care outside a hospital environment are providing primary care services. The HSE acknowledges that one of the professions involved in Primary Care are GPs but they are not the only ones, the statement explained. Health authorities also reaffirmed that €22 million has been allocated for the Clonbrusk project which is 'proceeding and sizing has been identified to progress the development' to take account of the GP opt-out. The GPs were provided with an 'opportunity' to come in to the centre but for 'practice specific reasons' chose not to,' the statement also explained. The timescale of the construction phase for the project is the summer of 2011 with commissioning of the building to follow. Local Fianna Fáil Councillor Kieran Molloy said he believed it was unlikely the expressions of interest sought by the HSE this week would be supported by local doctors who have already made other arrangements. 'I can"t see it happening in the short term at this stage. Maybe, if it moved some years ago GP"s might have been in a position to open but that has passed now,' however he added the development of the other new local health infrastructure in Clonbrusk is to be welcomed and should progressed as soon as possible.