Navan's new Community Nursing Unit to be completed in March
Work on the new Navan Community Nursing Unit, which will replace the Meath County Infirmary in Navan, is due for completion in March next year. The new unit, which is currently under construction in the grounds of Our Lady's Hospital in Navan, will consist of 50 residential beds. These will include 17 Respite Care Beds with the remaining 33 beds facilitating rehabilitation, assessment and review and long term care with access to palliative care services. The unit will also extend a range of day care services to both physiatric and elderly clients, ranging from medical, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, social work services and diversional therapies. Work on the €10 million health facility started earlier this year. At the present time, the County Infirmary on the Fair Green houses residents on the ground floor, mainly for respite care. The second storey is used to some extent by the Tain Mental Health Services but the HSE believes the building, which dates from the 1700s, is in bad condition. The infirmary caters for people from all over the county and is often used to take pressure off St Joseph's Hospital in Trim. The Mayor of Navan, Cllr Joe Reilly, said the new community nursing unit would be a welcome addition to hospital services in Navan, commenting that it has been on the cards a long time. He said the unit would be a big boost to services for the elderly and would also benefit Our Lady's Hospital because of the provision of extra beds. He pointed out that the current very old County Infirmary building was unsuitable for the elderly patients it catered for and for the staff working there and badly needed replacement. Cllr Reilly said the new unit would now raise the question of what the HSE planned to do with the current County Infirmary building. "Are they going to sell it, lease it or use it for some other purpose? It is in a strategic area and I would like some idea of the plans for its future use," he added.