Tipperary Regional Health Care

This project comprises a new-build 40-bed Residential Unit for elderly and dementia patients situated on the existing St. Joseph’s Hospital Site at Clonmel. This was a design build contract for HSE Estates South East.

The development at Clonmel is one of a series of HSE Residential Health Care Facilities that are being built in order to phase out the large psychiatric hospitals, as recommended in the National Health Policy ‘A Vision for Change’. The project aims to develop a modern model for mental healthcare residential units that address the particular needs of elderly mental health patients and carers within the health service.

The brief was to provide residential accommodation and care for elderly and dementia patients in a warm, safe, familiar environment with access to secure outdoor areas. In response to this the building is sited independently from the main hospital within its own landscaped gardens.

Each house has two courtyards around which the bedrooms and public spaces are organised. This results in short naturally lit circulation corridors and all sleeping and living rooms having access to landscaped courtyards. The courtyards are finished in appropriate hard and soft materials, which do not impede wheelchair use and also facilitate the recreational activities of the clients. The design layout provides for circulation around the inner courtyard with excellent observation/visibility for staff and the opportunity for patients to ‘wander’ safely through the small secure internal courtyard spaces within the circulation route.