The people of Nenagh and surrounding districts are expected to turn out in force this afternoon for a major protest march over HSE plans for the towns multi-million Euro community nursing unit.
It was planned that the state of the art 50 bed facility would be home to elderly patients relocating from St Conlon’s nursing home – however chronic overcrowding at UHL means the CNU will instead be used as a step-down facility for the Limerick hospital.
Local Labour TD Alan Kelly says no answers have been forthcoming from the Health Minister on the issue.
“I have no answer from Stephen Donnelly, the Minister for Health, as to where the elderly people in Nenagh and around who have worked all their lives, where are they going to go now?” he said.
“So robbing Peter to pay Paul and making the people of Nenagh and surrounds in North Tipperary suffer? That is not a solution to the ongoing crisis in healthcare in the Midwest, and I look forward to thousands of people March in Nina and half to where we need everybody’s support.”
The residents of St Conlon’s will be leading the march where they are able – and will be driven by family if they are not.
That’s according to SIPTU shop steward at the care home, Anna Treacy.
She says they are an important part of the demonstration because they are the ones who are being deprived of their new building:
“Some of them obviously will be in cars and will go straight up to the new unit and others will be brought by their families. They’ll be front and foremost at this march because it’s about them, our staff, the families and, the families waiting to come.”
