John Curran T.D. has said that the Government’s failure to deliver on providing primary care centres in Lucan and Clondalkin is contrary to its supposed commitment to improve community health based services. Deputy Curran was commenting on the Government’s recently published progress report on the rollout of Primary Care Centres nationwide; he said; “I have been campaigning for years now to secure Primary Care Centres in Lucan and Clondalkin. I was told that a centre in Rowlagh would be up and running in the first quarter of this year. However, in new information that I have just received from the HSE, it would appear that the tender process for this project is yet to commence. A year after receiving planning permission and the HSE has delayed the tender process.
The HSE continue to mislead with promised completion and delivery dates for this project that they simply fail to deliver on. They have now told me that contractors will be onsite late Q2 /early Q3 2019, with an expected delivery date of Q3 2020. However, if the tender process has not yet commenced these dates are doomed for failure. After years of inaction, advertising, planning and moving from one site to the other in the Lucan area; I have now learned that the HSE must advertise for a Primary Health Care Centre in Lucan again after the chosen site at St. Edmundsbury Hospital has made no progress. Delivery of this project was promised in 2016.
“Dublin Mid-West is an extensive area that has a rapidly expanding population that must be adequately provided with primary care services. Regrettably, the project to construct a Primary Care Centre in Lucan and Clondalkin, remains at the early stages of planning and tendering after years of inaction. “Primary and community based care plays an essential role in ensuring that those who do not need to be in acute care are removed from a hospital setting, by providing a range of multi-disciplinary services in the community. “This distinct lack of progress is an indictment of the Government’s failure to follow through on its promise to develop sufficient primary care services. We are continually promised its delivery and see the Minister cutting ribbons in other locations, yet little urgency has been applied to provide the services in Dublin Mid-West. The Deputy concluded, “We need the infrastructure in place. It is critical that these centres are actually delivered.”
