Nursing homes forced out of business

NURSING home owners say they are being forced out of business because cash-strapped health boards are unable to pay towards the upkeep of elderly patients.

The Irish Nursing Home Organisation (INHO) said that, instead of the usual 85% occupancy rate, many nursing homes were half empty, forcing staff redundancies.

INHO secretary Paul Costello said he believed the situation would worsen: “I have spoken to a number of health boards and it seems that no extra money has been allocated towards subvention (patient upkeep) costs in this year’s budgets.