Local hospice group continues mediation with HSE
With construction underway on the new 50-bed Community Nursing Unit in Clonbrusk to replace St Vincent's Care Centre, South Westmeath Hospice has moved to clarify its position, saying that it “remains engaged in a mediation process with the HSE” about the future of the four-bed hospice unit.
A hugely controversial aspect of the new Community Nursing Unit project has been the HSE's plan to close the South Westmeath Hospice, on the St Vincent's campus, and to relocate the service to Clonbrusk in what the hospice committee fears would not be a like-for-like facility.
The HSE has repeated on several occasions in recent months that "four Level 2 Palliative Care support beds" are to be included as part of the Clonbrusk development, while the hospice has sought any hospice facility in the new community nursing unit to mirror the existing service on St Vincent's campus.
Asked for an update on the future of the hospice unit, which opened in 2010, with the majority of €1.9 million needed for construction raised via local fundraising and voluntary donations, the local hospice group said: "The Board of South Westmeath Hospice currently remains engaged in a mediation process with the HSE, about the future of the hospice unit presently situated on the St Vincent’s Campus. The mediation process is confidential but when this process is finalised in the coming weeks, we will be better positioned to issue a more informative statement.
“Over the past four years the Board has accessed every route available to us to secure the future of the South Westmeath Hospice. Although works on the site have advanced recently, we wish to assure the public that we remain committed to safeguarding their hospice and will continue in a positive and constructive manner with the HSE through this mediation process."
South Westmeath Hospice mounted a high-profile video campaign during the pandemic, urging local people to support them in their opposition to the proposal by the HSE to close the existing South Westmeath Hospice facility and replace it with four palliative care beds in the Community Nursing Unit.
Chairperson Clare McNally said that, if South Westmeath Hospice was lost, people would be losing far more than they might realise if a family member of theirs has not needed to avail of the service to date.