Work underway at hospital chapel of rest which was closed after watchdog report

Work to reopen the chapel of rest at Carndonagh Community Hospital which was closed in 2022 has commenced.

The chapel of rest was closed after an inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) in October 2022 found fire risks.

Before it closed, residents could access the chapel area, and Mass was held at regular intervals.

The Hiqa report noted several fire safety risks in the chapel area, including that wax candles and fire lighters were used in the chapel, and combustible items were stored near a gas boiler, which is located in a room near the chapel. A safety gas valve located outside the chapel area was found to be cable tied which prevented the shutting off of the gas supply during a fire emergency.

Following the report, the HSE closed the chapel to residents and staff pending “a further assessment”.

HSE Regional West Forum member, Cllr Albert Doherty welcomed the commencement of the work which is part of an allocation of €4.2m to address issues identified at the hospital. Cllr Doherty said there were times that the chapel was used as “a resting place” for relatives after a bereavement and he hoped that would be “reviewed and hopefully renewed for families that require that assistance”.

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It is expected the work will be completed within three months.

The hospital has seen capital work carried out to the residential areas of the hospital in a major refurbishment.

“This will complement work that was done previously on the main hospital site and will be good news for staff, managment and of course the families of the patients who use the hospital and use Ard Aoibhinn,” Cllr Doherty said.

The hospital returned to its full capacity of 46 beds earlier this year.

The work at the 16-bed dementia unit could see the number of beds available reduced for a time, Cllr Doherty said.

He added he hoped that day care services, which were stopped during the pandemic, will return to the hospital The HSE has said it will undertake a review of the hospital to determine its suitability for day care services. 

“As we go into the winter now, that's one matter of social benefit to the elderly and those that live alone that the Carndonagh public would love to see restored.”