A Laois woman, who is a mobility scooter user, has outlined the problems she has accessing her local primary care centre.
Sarah McDowall, who is a local of the Mountrath area and tries to attend there, outlined how a lack of space is causing massive problems.
She said: “I use a mobility scooter because I can’t walk. It’s an old building, it’s just too tight.
“I can just about get in through the front door, but it’s very tight, like I said, it’s an old building.
“Once you’re in it’s even tighter. There’s shelving units in there; the rooms are tight as well because there’s stuff like desks, presses, tables.
“I get my bloods done twice a year for my Neurologist in Dublin, and I’d usually get them done in Mountrath and sent to Tallaght.
“But the last time, I had to go get them done in Portlaoise Hospital because Mountrath was too tight for me to get into.
“The last time I did get in there they had to get a wheelchair for me and even then I barely got in. It really is just too tight.
“The building is there years. It was meant to be re-done years ago. There was talk a long time ago about getting a new health centre and nothing has been done about it yet.
“What’s there is an old building and it’s not fit for purpose anymore.
“The population of Mountrath has grown and this is a right for everyone.
“The staff in there are great, they just don’t have the facilities to work with.”
A site for a new primary care centre was announced by Fianna Fail’s Sean Fleming next to Mighty Moll’s filling station, but still no construction has yet begun more than a year later.
The issue came before this week’s meeting of the Borris-In-Ossory/Mountmellick District as Cllr James Kelly asked for an update from the HSE on the provision on new primary healthcare centres in Mountrath, Rathdowney and Borris-in-Ossory.
He said: “We all know the state the health centres are in. I’m not having a go at the people working in them.
“They put patients first, providing comprehensive care from the beginning to end of life.
“GP services are the cornerstone of health but they’re in small bungalows. Two thirds of the practices are unable for new patients. They applied for a modular unit and were refused.
“Sean Fleming did a video saying it was great news that a primary care centre was coming to Mountrath with land identified, but we are no further, there are no updates at all.
“If you can’t put a couple of ramps in for people I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said.
Cllr John King agreed and outlined the situation in Rathdowney also.
“In Rathdowney the centre serves 4,000 people, with 2,000 of them on medical cards. It’s overcrowded, the building is outdated.
“There is a site identified in the middle of town, there is money available. I want to see this deal done with the landowner. With the influx of new people, it’s not fit for purpose,” he said.
Cllr Ollie Clooney said that Durrow health centre is “ok” but that it “hasn’t been painted in 30 years”.
“At the back there are bushes and briars going up at the windows, it’s like a third world place. We are spending billions on a hospital and accountability is questioned,” he said.
Borris-in-Ossory centre is in “quite a dangerous location”, Cllr Conor Bergin said.
He added: “There have been fatalities on the road outside it, so a carpark was built. It’s an old bungalow, it’s of its time, we need health centres, they are crucial in every village.”
Laois County Council has asked for an update from the HSE on the matter.
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