New psychiatric department urgently needed in Roscommon

The new planned 50-bed psychiatric department for Roscommon University Hospital is urgently needed, a meeting of the HSE West Regional Health Forum heard last week. 

At the meeting Cllr Sean Moylan asked the HSE for an update on the project, querying if the design team was in place and what was the timeline on the final design.

In its written answer, the HSE said Roscommon University Hospital Health Planning exercise was ongoing and the outcome and final report will define and finalise the project scope and brief.

“In parallel with the above health planning study and report, HSE Capital & Estates has progressed with the design team framework for this category of project. This framework is now established and the progression to appoint the design team services will follow.” 

 Cllr Moylan welcomed the news, saying the current facility was “substandard”, and that its visitor facilities were “desperate”.

“It has 24 beds, some of them long stay beds. This cannot come quick enough for the people of our region,” he said. “There is an expanding need for this.” While the hospital was performing very well, it did have a couple of major issues, “and this is one of them”.

“We need to keep a fire under this because it is so important,” the FF councillor said.