The Health Service Executive (HSE) have been granted planning permission by Laois County Council to instal a temporary single-storey modular unit in Abbeyleix.
The facility will be on the grounds of Abbeyleix Hospital on the Ballinakill Road and will provide Day Care services – including a Day Room, a Treatment Room, a Kitchenette, toilets and Staff Support Rooms.
The application also allows for ancillary site works including new car parking spaces.
The application was met with opposition from some quarters, however, including Dr Peter Kemple, GP of the adjacent Health Centre on the same campus.
Dr Kemple said he was “disappointed” not to have been “asked for any input” on the development prior to the planning process, saying the development “goes in no way to addressing the traffic and parking issues” at the site, which he said are “a significant health and safety risk for users” of the campus.
“Elderly patients using the Health Centre at present are currently having to alight from vehicles either directly onto a roadway or onto a curb and a steep grassy embankment, the local GP said.
“These patients are using not only the GP service but also the Public Health Nurse and Dental services in the Health Centre.”
Dr Kemple went on to say that “in no uncertain terms that the proposed development as currently planned will worsen these buildings by increasing the amount of traffic and need for parking to the front of the Hospital.
“There is provision for or only three extra parking spaces at the front and I am told that this is because most of the additional parking will be at the back.
“The proposed daycare unit would be accessed at least as easily from the front of the building. I strongly believe that with a minor change to the design/positioning, major improvements can be made to the safety of patients and staff on this campus.”
In clarifying his stance on the matter, Dr Kemple concluded by stating: “I fully support and appreciate the vital service that Daycare is but I must question the wisdom of housing it in a temporary modular structure next to a building of some aesthetic and heritage value.
“I am not trying to stop this project from happening. I am trying to ensure a sensible approach to its design which recognises the need of the local community for safe access to adequate care facilities.”
A petition was also submitted to Laois County Council to ask that the HSE’s facility “remain in the permanent building,” saying “a temporary structure gives no assurance to the future of day care centre services in Abbeyleix.”
The petition received over 250 signatures, yet planning permission has still been awarded.
