Adams and Ó Murchú informed that plans advancing for Primary Care Centre in Dundalk

Ongoing calls for a Primary Care Centre in Dundalk were repeated last week by Sinn Féin TD Gerry Adams and Cllr Ruairí Ó Murchú, at a meeting with Dervila Eyres, the HSE director of Mental Health services for the region. 

Primary Care services relate to all of the health or social care services that can be found in a community, outside of the hospital setting. This includes GPs, Public Health Nurses and a range of other services provided through a Local Health Office. 

Sinn Féin say they have been campaigning for years for a Primary Care Centre in Dundalk, and following their meeting with Ms Eyres last Friday they issued a statement on the matter. In it Deputy Adams said: 

“I want to work with the HSE Mental Health team to ensure better delivery of services to the people of north Louth. The staff we met indicated once again that the best way to provide services is via a Primary Care Centre ‘one stop shop’.”

Explaining what services would be available in such a facility, Deputy Adams explained, “a Primary Care Centre in Dundalk would contain occupational therapy, physiotherapy, social care, community nursing, psychology, psychiatry, day services and co-ordinate respite and other services for people with disabilities.”

The Louth TD added, “the Minister for Health has confirmed to me that a Primary Care Centre has been approved for Dundalk.I have raised unacceptable delays in delivering this project many times. Dervila Eyres confirmed to me today that the plan is at an advanced stage in the HSE’s Estates Department and that locally the HSE is making good progress. 

“The Minister must ensure that Dundalk Primary Care Centre is kept at the top of the list of projects and I have written to him to ensure that this is so. 

Councillor Ó Murchu giving his views on how the meeting progressed, said ,“during this very positive meeting I queried the local delivery of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and the HSE confirmed that they hope to announce details of a Dundalk based service very soon. 

The Dundalk councillor added: “I have also committed to working with the HSE’s Suicide Prevention Officer to provide links to local community leaders in the Cox’s Demesne and Muirhevnamor areas to address the high levels of suicide in these communities.”