Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 February 2024
298. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will issue planning guidelines in relation to the development of residential care homes and primary care centres to ensure that they are appropriately designed and located in areas with access to public transport and other amenities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6953/24]
View answerThe Government’s strategic goal is to deliver a new model of integrated health and social care services, across the care continuum, supporting older people to remain living independently in their own homes and communities for longer.
I also understand the vital importance of strengthening the capacity and resilience of our health system through the delivery of health and social care infrastructure, including residential care settings for older people, and primary care centres. This Government is committed to continued investment in healthcare infrastructure that is provided in the right locations and that supports the highest quality care.
It is recognised that long-term residential care is a crucial part of the overall continuum of care and, across the country, our HSE Community Nursing Units (CNU) and Community Hospitals play a vital role in the provision of long-term care and other services. Investment in residential care includes the Community Nursing Unit Programme, which was launched to ensure that up to 90 of our public Community Nursing Units and Community Hospitals would be refurbished or replaced to ensure the best quality environments for our older people. As of January 2024, 49 projects have reached construction completion.
Investment also continues in primary care facilities across the country to help ensure the appropriate provision of, and access to, services in the community. By enhancing and expanding capacity in the primary care sector, we will be able to provide high quality, safe, accessible, and sustainable care at the local level and allow people to be cared for in their own homes and communities for as long as possible.
In order to ensure that the built environment and location of residential care settings for older people support the highest quality care for our older population, I committed to creating new design standards for long-term residential care settings for older people (public, private, and voluntary).
The aim of the design guide is to describe and illustrate what good building design looks like for long-term residential care settings for older people and will provide a common benchmark against which the standard of these settings can be measured. The new design guidelines will apply to the building, extension, and conversion of long-term residential care settings for older people.
On 19 December 2023, I announced the public consultation on the draft Design Guide for Long-Term Residential Care Settings for Older People, which closed on 15 February 2024. The public consultation will allow the Department of Health to hear the views of a wide range of stakeholders and the feedback received, which is currently under review, will inform the final version of the design guide.
