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.

“Not only that, but the Government’s public-private partnership plans to build 17 more nursing homes will create an even greater oversupply of beds, driving our members out of business.”

One nursing home operator in the Mid-West has already had a number of redundancies this year. The owner, who did not wish to be named, runs two nursing homes and has plans to build another two. Because the health board did not have the funds to contract out extra beds under the Winter Initiative scheme, he has had to let staff go.

“Normally we would have 10 step-down beds contracted out to the health board, but it didn’t happen this year. We held onto the staff as long as possible, but in the end we couldn’t fill the beds and I had to let four staff nurses go.”

Hospitals and health boards have consistently argued that, primarily due to a lack of appropriate step-down facilities including rehab and physiotherapy, elderly patients are forced to remain in hospital. However the Government’s public-private partnership plans will lead to the creation of nursing homes which will concentrate on the provision of long-stay accommodation for older people in Community Nursing Units (CNUs).

Their services will include assessment/rehabilitation, respite, extended care, elderly mentally infirm and convalescent care and will up pressure on existing nursing homes to follow suit.