The HSE has begun a legal bid to prevent the eventual closure of a 120 long stay bed hospital in Ennis.
The Health Service Executive, and representatives of health watchdog HIQA, have appeared before Ennis District Court in respect of an order saying that the long stay St Joseph’s Hospital be no longer able to admit new patients.
The order by HIQA follows a recent inspection of St. Josephs and, if upheld, will result in its eventual closure.
The hospital can continue to admit patients ahead of a full court hearing into the HSE appeal, which is slated for next month and is believed to be the first case of its kind.
It is not clear what exactly in the as-of-yet unpublished inspection report prompted HIQA to make the order, but the health watchdog has previously raised serious concerns about the state of the physical building that accommodates patients there.
In the most recently published inspection report, HIQA stated that the HSE was in ‘major’ non compliance concerning the design and layout of the hospital.
The inspectors stated that St. Joseph’s “does not meet the individual and collective needs of the residents in terms of their privacy, personal space, access to dining and communal space and adequate and accessible sanitary facilities.”
Judge Patrick Durcan has set aside two days next month for when evidence in the case will be heard.
