The Chairman of Longford Hospice says they're disappointed to hear no mention of an extra Level 2 bed for the county as part of a major funding announcement for the midlands.
Dan Rooney was responding to the news today that the government has approved capital funding to build a new 20 bedded hospice unit on the campus of the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore.
It's hoped the new unit could be delivered in the next few years after the planning process begins for the project.
The Longford Hospice Chairman says they had supported the Tullamore project on the basis that an extra Level 2 bed would be provided in the county.
'We were under the impression that the provision of two Level 2 step-down beds was to be announced as part of this anouncement today.
Our support for the project was always conditional on us getting the second bed in St Josephs.
Longford Hospice has an issue with the location in Tullamore, in that the distance from all parts of Longford is substantial , and the fact that the route is not serviced by public transport.'
Joe Ruane who's Head of Primary Care with HSE Midlands has said however that all Hospice Groups in the Midlands supported the Tullamore project unconditionally.
Speaking on the Let's Talk show today he said the need for Level 2 beds in other counties is something that will be considered as part of the overall scheme.
'There's no suggestion that there was conditional support in relation to the location, and everyone's commitment to the midlands hospice unit Tullamore, so just to state that.
I would look at this 'in the round', this is a positive day, and in terms of the needs of the midlands population as a whole, it's being catered for, but also we will be looking at all counties as well , in terms of their number of Level 2 beds , and consider those as well.'
Listen to the full interviews with Joe Ruane and Dan Rooney here.
