"Longest health care project in history" goes on permanent shelf

Confirmation that the essential day care services which would have been offered by Phase 2b at Mullingar hospital will not go ahead in the foreseeable future has been a long time coming.Just last February Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney stated that the wing would definitely go ahead and would in fact by finished by early 2009."I believe it (Phase 2b) will all be commissioned over the next number of months, and by the start of next year it will be fully operational," Ms Harney told those gathered at the opening of St Francis' hospital in Ballinderry."After that, it is a matter for the HSE to examine the capacity issues in the Midlands, to see what further capacity may be required for a facility such as Mullingar."But just a week later the Irish Nurses Organisation hit out at the Minister's comments and said that it was "dubious" about the progress of building works at the hospital wing.Midlands Industrial Relations Officer Derek Reilly said that he would be "very, very surprised" was to unblock the current recruitment freeze to staff the new wing and also said that staff were struggling to cope with the numbers of patients that they already had. Mr Reilly also said that builders were well behind the deadline that they had been given to finish kitting out the shell, as the bare bones of the wards have been referred to and finish the plumbing, plastering and electrical works needed to make the building operational.Phase 2b raised its head again in September of last year when the admissions ward at St Loman's for patients suffering from acute psychiatric illnesses looked like they were under threat from closure. Part of Phase 2b was to house a new acute unit for those suffering from mental illnesses and again local politicians began asking what was happening with the new wing."Recent information emanating from the HSE would indicate that those plans are being scrapped," commented Deputy Willie Penrose."In the eyes of the HSE, the PCCC area of Mid-Leinster (Longford, Westmeath, Laois and Kildare) has enough inpatient beds available in two centres at Portlaoise and Naas, both of which have the Psychiatric Units based at the General Hospital."In November of last year Deputy Penrose took the question of Phase 2b in the context of the threat to the wards at St Lomans back to the Daíl and the TD was less that pleased with the response that he received."I was sent there by those people to get answers and I got no sensible reply. It is a total fob off, the sort of answer that you would give to a child," said Willie Penrose when he was given his answer by Minister Barry Andrews."With regard to stage two, the HSE, in drawing up its capital programme, is required to priorities the capital infrastructure projects to be developed within its overall capital funding allocation under the national development plan," was Mr Andrew's reply."What I want to know is whether or not we will have our acute psychiatric unit as promised and if not can we have some assurances that if it is not going to happen that the acute wards will be kept at St Loman's," retorted Mr Penrose."They are talking about the completion of Part One by early 2009, well that it is only 11 years after it was first planned. Surely this is the longest health care project in history," he said.