Lack of Primary Care Centres in Clondalkin and Lucan deemed ‘unacceptable’

THE LACK of urgency in developing a Primary Care Centre in Dublin Mid-West has been described as “short sighted and contrary to the Government’s own commitment to deliver primary care services” by local TD, John Curran.

In information acquired by Deputy Curran through a parliamentary question this week, the Minister for Health’s commitment to build a primary care centre remains at a standstill as its development is subject to planning permission being granted.

Deputy Curran told The Echo: “Primary Care Centres play an integral role in ensuring that those who do not need to be in acute care are removed from a hospital setting, by providing a range of multi-disciplinary services in the community.

The Rowlagh/North Clondalkin centre is one of the 35 primary care centres announced under the infrastructure stimulus package in July 2012 with a planned completion date of late 2016.”

Deputy Curran said that the facility in North Clondalkin which was previously guaranteed to be open by 2016 has now been stalled while the HSE awaits planning permission.

He added: “There are currently no primary care services in my own constituency which has a population of over 100,000 people and yet the only facility that was promised in the area remains at a stage that is nowhere near operational.

“The provision of primary care centres in the greater Clondalkin and Lucan areas has persisted in demonstrating an alarming lack of progress”.

Deputy Curran described the lack of progress as “an indictment of the Government’s failure to follow through on its promise to develop sufficient primary care services”.

He added: “This is unacceptable and I intend on further raising the development of the North Clondalkin facility with the Minister as a matter of real urgency.”