First brick laid in 90 bedded Community Hospital in Carrick on Shannon

The first brick of the new 90 bedded Community Hospital in Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim was laid by Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill today, Friday May 2nd 2025.

Representing a major investment in health and social care for older people across country Leitrim, the construction of a new Community Hospital located at Ballynamony Road, Carrick on Shannon has commenced and is expected to be complete in Q1 2027.

The new unit, with a contract construction value in excess of €38m, will contain 90 beds facilitating long stay, short stay and dementia wards. The building will also accommodate a designated rehabilitation facility on Level 2.

The design of the Community Hospital aims to create a person-centred approach which supports the opportunity for older people to continue to direct their own lives in accordance with their cognitive and physical abilities, and in an environment which reflects the comforts of home. This will be done by the creation of households within the overall centre. The intention is the normalization of care within the new Community Hospital assisting residents with everyday tasks.

Each long stay household will have 23 en-suite single bedrooms and 1 en-suite twin bedroom, a total of 25 residents. The short stay household will accommodate 20 residents in 20 en-suite single bedrooms.

Each household will have their own dayroom, dining room and kitchen area at the centre of the home. In each of the 25 bed households, there will be one dayroom/ sun room and one shared dining room that can be compartmentalized, and which can open out to the gardens. There will also be a quiet room for reading, reflection or meeting with visitors which can also open out to the outdoor space.

There will be 20 dementia-specific assessment beds, to be accommodated on the ground floor in two 10 bedded households. The design of each household will support the continued engagement of residents living with dementia in meaningful person centred activities, and residents will be afforded access to a secure, therapeutic, landscaped courtyard.

Minister Carroll MacNeill also visited Drumshanbo Primary Care Centre where she met with staff including Dr Alan Loftus and toured the centre.

Minister Carroll MacNeill said: “I am delighted to have been invited to lay the first brick of the new Community Hospital today. This project reflects our commitment to enhancing the delivery of healthcare across all life stages and enabling the provision of care closer to home.

“Our population is living longer than ever before, so it’s vital that we continue to invest in health infrastructure that enables older people to live well, with dignity in a peaceful and nurturing environment.”

John Fitzmaurice, HSE IHA Manager for Sligo Leitrim said: “We are delighted to welcome Minister MacNeill to Carrick on Shannon today to lay the first brick laid in this development. The new Community Hospital represents a major enhancement in patient care in our region and will ensure that older people in our communities can receive specialist, person-centred care closer to their home.”

Frank Morrison, Head of Service Older Persons, Community Services Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo said: “We are pleased to see the progression of this project. This purpose-built facility will provide the most modern care and comforts for the older population of Leitrim.”