The HSE must take urgent measures to provide beds for older people in Roscommon who can't be accommodated at the existing nursing homes.
That's according to Deputy Denis Naughten who's expressing serious concern over the fact that two of the four HSE run nursing homes in the county can't take any new admissions presently.
The homes involved are in Castlerea and Roscommon town.
The Independent TD says that the HSE would have been aware in advance of the likely closure of some local private facilities, and should have put alternative arrangements in place.
He says the advent of another possible wave of Covid, coupled with flu, will likely lead to more chaos in our hospitals unless something is done now…
"What we urgently need to see now is a measure taken to provide additional short term beds in Co.Roscommon pending the reopening of admissions to both the Sacred Heart Hospital and Áras Máthair Phóil. You have a large number of nursing home beds taken out of the system. We're now entering the winter period and we have concerns over a new wave of COVID. We're being told we're going to see a large wave of flu this winter too. Something has to be done".
