Minister officially opens local health facilities

Minister of State with responsibility for Primary Care, Alex White today (Wednesday, November 21) officially opened Bailieborough Primary Care Centre, Cootehill Community Services Centre and launched the Primary Care Team at Darley Primary Care Centre. Speaking at the event Minister White said "the opening today of these renovated facilities are a fitting example of what we aspire to for many other areas to facilitate the delivery of modern Primary Care services. These centres will provide excellent services to the people of Bailieborough, Cootehill and their surrounding areas, such as GP and nursing services, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. The team members will work hand-in-hand with other service providers including dieticians, mental health services, psychologists, dental service, social workers, community welfare officers and many others who support the delivery of an efficient health service. To have these services working together in a co-ordinated fashion for the benefit of the wider Cavan community is exactly what a good Primary Care Team should be, and that is exactly what we have here today." The recently renovated Bailieborough Primary Care Centre accommodates a primary care team who provide services such as public health nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. Team members liaise and work alongside a range of outreach service providers including dietitians, psychologists, social workers and community welfare officers serving a population of over 7,000 people living in the towns of Bailieborough, Shercock and surrounding areas. A Mental Health Day Care Centre is also located in the Bailieborough Primary Care Centre. The multidisciplinary team includes a clinical co-ordinator, consultant psychiatrist, senior registrar, nursing staff, occupational and behaviour therapists who provide a service to the people of East Cavan with a population of approximately 25,000 people. Referrals are made from the Community Rehabilitation Service, the Cavan Community Mental Health Team and from Psychiatry of Old Age. The majority of clients attending this service are people who have a severe and enduring mental health illness and have rehabilitation needs. The centre is part of the Cavan Assertive Outreach Team which provides a home-based service to people living in Co. Cavan. The Community Services Centre in Cootehill is a facility that provides day services to older people from Cootehill and the surrounding locality. Also located in this building is a purpose-built audiology suite which provides a service to both children and adults in the Cavan Monaghan region. All babies referred by the newly established newborn hearing screening programme now operating at Cavan General Hospital and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital can be followed up at this facility for further treatment. The service also provides a hearing aid service for adults with a hearing loss, who have medical card eligibility. The Cootehill Primary Care Team is located in the recently refurbished Darley Primary Care Centre. The team provides services such as public health nursing, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Other service providers working in the building on a sessional basis are social work, mental health service and dental services. The Cootehill Primary Care Team serves a population of approximately 6,500 living in Cootehill town and the surrounding areas. There are three GPs located in the building, Dr O'Hea, Dr O' Hanlon and Dr Gunne who attend the primary care team meetings. Leo Kinsella, Area Manager, HSE Cavan Monaghan said "the renovation of these centres will ensure the local population can receive a wide range of services as close to home as possible. The primary care teams operating from these buildings will allow for an integrated team approach to the delivery of services with regard to complex cases where the input of many team members is required. It is hoped that these teams, working together with other colleagues will allow many local people to be able to avoid an admission into hospital by receiving the service they require in their own community."