Blow To Locals As Allenwood Day Care Centre To Close Permanently, Including Wheels On Meals Service

Thursday, 6 March 2025 08:43

By Martin Osborne

Since its closure, some locals have regressed so much that they are now in hospital.

The Allenwood day care centre in Ballyteague will cease all operations, including its meals on wheels service, on Friday, March 28th.

A letter sent to users of the service from Saint Vincent de Paul said it is "with a heavy heart" that the decision has been made.

Last week marked ten weeks since the closure of the centre in Ballyteague, with hopes that a solution to reopen it would be found.

Up to 37 locals, some with dementia, used the service.

Since its closure, four of those people are now in a nursing home, while two are in hospital.

Some services are expected to transfer to Kilmeague in June this year, while residents and their families implored the HSE to determine if a new provider could continue to deliver the service in Ballyteague.

Gabrielle Dempsey, aged in her 80s, attended the daycare centre.

She said she misses the "cup of tea and chats".

"For me, it's heartbreaking that we can't go back," she said.

We will discuss this in more detail on this morning's Kildare Today.

In a statement provided to Kfm, Saint Vincent de Paul East Regional Council said:

"Last December, the East Regional Council of the Society of St Vincent De Paul (SVP) announced that it was undertaking an operational review of the service it provided at the Allenwood Day Care centre."

It added: "The decision was made primarily as the Regional Council did not believe that it had the appropriate governance and compliance structure in place to fulfil its statutory Service Level Agreement with the HSE, on whose behalf SVP managed the centre."

"That review has now been completed by the Regional Council with input from the SVP National Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance and the review has confirmed that SVP is not in a position to renew its service level agreement."