New Ballincollig unit signals future for public nursing beds
Minister for Health Dr. James Reilly, TD pictured chatting with Nora O'connell and her niece Mags Connolly of Ballincollig at the official opening of Ballincollig Community Nursing Unit, Cork. Credit: Photo: Clare Keogh
HEALTH Minister James Reilly was on hand to officially open a new 100 bed Community Nursing Unit in Ballincollig last week.
The new €20m HSE purposebuilt facility provides 100 additional public beds for older people and is completely managed by a private company, Mowlam Healthcare Ltd.
The company manages all aspects of the service, including nursing and support care, catering, cleaning, maintenance, pharmacy and staff recruitment.
"This innovative approach to providing services for older people is an example of how HSE South is looking at traditional methods of service delivery and developing new, innovative and efficient ways of delivering services in an environment of reduced resources and staffing levels. This method of service provision for older people is the first of its kind for the HSE in Ireland," a HSE spokesperson said.
While Ballincollig CNU is managed by Mowlam Healthcare Ltd, HSE South is the registered provider of the facility, with the Health Information & Quality Authority (HIQA), and governance of the 100 beds is the HSE South's responsibility. Admission to the unit is through the NHSS scheme as is the case for all other public units.
"The development of this facility has been a priority for HSE South in order to provide additional continuing care services for older people in the area," said Pat Healy, regional director of operations, HSE South.
"Our focus, now more than ever, must be to look beyond traditional models of service delivery if we are to deliver local services for local communities. Ballincollig CNU is an excellent example of this kind of innovation and new thinking."
The unit won the ' Best New Business' Category in the Ballincollig Business Association Awards Ceremony attended by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny the day before the opening.
- JOE LEOGUE
