Save Our Hospice campaign is reinstated amid fresh fears

South Westmeath Hospice Committee is set to reinstate its 'Save Our Hospice' campaign in the run-up to the election, it's emerged, after the group criticised HSE “inaction” over the last six months to secure the future of the facility.

"We believe the HSE is determined to close the South Westmeath Hospice as we have no evidence to suggest otherwise,” Chairperson of the South Westmeath Hospice Clare Lennon said in a statement on the hospice's Facebook page tonight (Monday).

The committee expressed its “complete disappointment” in the health authorities after  attempting for months to “engage with them in a meaningful way” about the future of the four-bed hospice facility, currently located in the grounds of St Vincent's Care Centre.

 "The Hospice Committee acted in good faith when we suspended our 'Save Your Hospice' campaign to give the HSE time to fulfil their commitment to engage in positive consultation with the committee. We have patiently and respectfully pursued engagement with the HSE, however, the inaction of the HSE to date demonstrates that the HSE are not actively engaged.”

“We are now reinstating our 'Save Your Hospice' campaign and we want the people of South Westmeath to bring this campaign to the politicians canvassing for their votes. We want people to tell the politicians the hospice is not saved and to ask them what they are doing to ensure its future?"

The controversy originally erupted in early August when the HSE tabled its controversial proposal to close South Westmeath Hospice in Athlone.

It said bed occupancy for 2018 has an average of 35%, leading to an average cost of care per bed of €8,200, compared to a national average of €1,642 per bed per week. 

This was subsequently withdrawn following a storm of protest and political intervention and discussions were due to take place between both parties in relation to the future of the hospice facility.

A few months later, a statement from the HSE appeared to rule out providing a standalone building for South Westmeath Hospice in Clonbrusk, which was one of the hospice's core demands, when it said it would not revisit a successful planning application for a new 50-bed community nursing unit and daycare centre in Clonbrusk, which made no mention of the hospice facility or palliative care beds.

This state-of-the-art facility is intended to replace St Vincent’s Hospital.

When asked at that stage if a new planning application would be necessary to incorporate the hospice unit in the Clonbrusk plans and whether that will have implications for the delivery timeframe, a HSE spokesperson ruled that out, saying: “Provision will be made to incorporate the Palliative Care beds into the new build. No new planning permission will be required”.

South Westmeath Hospice had said at that point it remained committed to achieving a like-for-like in any new building to replace the current unit, something that has not changed in the interim.

“This hospice belongs to the people of South Westmeath. It was built with their money and we are fighting on their behalf to retain it, but we have effectively been ignored by the HSE for the last six months. We simply cannot and will not accept this manner of disengagement and complete disrespect for what the people of South Westmeath have built," Clare Lennon said.