Kenmare Community Nursing Unit has been officially opened by Dr James Reilly TD, Minister for Health.

The new Community Nursing Unit, built at a cost of €8m, is a 40 bed facility providing continuing care, convalescent and respite care for the local people of Kenmare, Sneem, Castlecove, Bonane and Kilgarvan who require additional inpatient supports or for those who can no longer live at home independently and require long term residential care.

The Unit, which opened to residents in 2013, replaced the old Kenmare Community Hospital which served the community for almost 100 years.

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The new facility provides a greatly enhanced environment for the residents and the staff who work there. The two floor unit is homely, bright and spacious with courtyard gardens that can be accessed from various points within the building. Residents enjoy single en-suite rooms as well as a number of sitting rooms, quiet rooms, dining rooms, hairdressers and activity rooms. The unit meets all of the environmental requirements set down by the HIQA Residential Care Standards

The unit is spread over two floors; 'Sheen House' on the ground floor and 'Caha House' and 'Roughty House' upstairs. A palliative care suite with a dedicated family area is also provided with the decoration and equipping of the suite funded by donations and local support groups. The unit was in a position to support residents from a private nursing home in Killarney who had to vacate their unit in February following storm damage, and are being cared for by staff from Mowlam healthcare on the first floor at present. In addition to the 40 residential care beds there is also accommodation for a mental health day care centre, as well as a new ambulance base for the locality.

(CD/MH)