Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Question:110. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Health when Tullow, County Carlow will get a primary care centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37462/22]
View answerTuesday, 12 July 2022
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Primary Care Centres are modern, purpose designed buildings providing a single point of access to health services in the community.
Tullow Co. Carlow has been identified as one of the areas for the development of a new Primary Care Centre (PCC) which will also serve the local communities in Hacketstown and Rathvilly.
It is planned that the new PCC will provide a broad range of services including General Practitioner services, Public Health Nursing, Physiotherapy, Dental, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Dietetics. There will also be capacity for visiting clinicians to hold sessional services i.e., Psychology, Podiatry, Counselling, Area Medical Officer, Chronic Disease, etc.
In relation to this planned Primary Care Centre, following an expression of interest, the HSE Estates Division has identified a number of interested developers. A meeting to review and assess the submissions was held in September 2021. The developers indicated their ability to provide the accommodation required by HSE and adequate car parking facilities. A preferred developer has been identified.
The preferred location is within the town boundaries of Tullow. HSE Estates Personnel are working to progress the appointment of the preferred developer. Some final items are yet to be clarified regarding the process. Following this, the next step is for the HSE Board to approve the appointment of the developer. A letter of Intent will then issue as a matter of priority. Thereafter it will be up to selected Developer/provider to finalise site purchase, building design, planning permission and satisfy a number of legal /contractual requirements, before Agreement for Lease/Contract is issued by HSE. On completion of the building construction, HSE will enter a 25-year Lease with the Developer.
It is expected that the developer could be ready to begin construction by Q4 2022 with building complete by end 2023 or early 2024.