A Killarney councillor has said it’s a disgrace that the new community nursing unit in the town is still not open.
Independent councillor Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan says the HSE needs to provide a definitive date for when the facility in Ballydribbeen will open for patients.
Work on the 130-bed unit started in 2022, and the community nursing unit was originally due to open earlier this year to patients being transferred from St Columbanus and the Killarney District Hospital.
It’s understood the building has not yet been handed over from the contractor to the HSE, after which a commissioning period and six-week inspection period by the health watchdog HIQA must still take place.
The HSE has not yet responded to queries from Radio Kerry on the matter.
Cllr Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan, says patients, families, and potential employees are all waiting for an opening date.
