A new €2.4m day hospital is to be built in Thurles.
The service will be for elderly care and will be on the grounds of the Hospital of the Assumption.
It will measure around 7,000 square feet and because it’s exempt from planning under COVID regulations, work will start on the 7th of September.
The details of the build were provided to Deputy Alan Kelly who says it will be able to cater for around 1,000 patients a year:
“There will be a suite of therapies and a suite of other rooms that will be preventative. It will be interventional, it’ll ensure that people who are elderly will be able to come in and have their ailments looked after, whether it’s arthritis or physiotherapy.
“It’s designed to keep people in their homes, and to assist people across north Tipperary.”
Both Jackie Cahill and deputy Michael Lowry have criticised Labour leader Alan Kelly, claiming he overstepped the mark by releasing information about the project before the Minister. Deputy Kelly said the plans had been confirmed with him by the HSE.
Deputy Lowry says he’s delighted to see the project come to fruition after many years:
“I progressed this over the last couple of years with then Minister for Health, Simon Harris. He set up a working group within the HSE Midwest and gave me an assurance as part of my understanding with the last Government that this would be incorporated and included in the current year’s works program.
“Then Stephen Donnelly took over that position and obviously Jackie Cahill spoke with him, as I did, and he agreed that it would progress. And he expressed his intention that he would visit Thurles to make the official announcement.”
Deputy Cahill commented, “Minister Donnelly will visit the constituency in the near future to announce the details on the expansion. Deputy Michael Lowry had been working on this under the previous administration and I continued to push it since Government formation in June.”
