Staff at the Clarecastle Day Care Centre are stepping up their campaign today to push for the opening of a new purpose built Dementia Unit
The facility, built at a cost of 850 thousand euro, is lying idle due to a lack of operating funds from the Health Service Executive.
The Dementia Unit which forms part of the District Day Care Centre was built in response to the growing numbers of people diagnosed with the condition and the anticipated growth in the coming years
It’s designed to facilitate 25 people per day with mild to moderate dementia and caters for 12 parishes with a population of 50,000 within a ten-mile radius of the centre.
The unit was built at a cost of 850 thousand euro with over 360 thousand of this coming from local fund raising and the rest from the HSE which approved the development.
However the Health Service now says it’s unable to providing the funding necessary to operate the facility.
This has angered staff who say the day car centre actually saves the state a fortune as it keeps elderly people out of long term and costly residential care
They are holding an information day today to highlight their plight and to put pressure on the HSE to rethink its decision not to fund the unit…