HSE denies claims over hike in public nursing home fees

THE HSE has denied it is forcing future public nursing home residents to pay almost 20 times more for their care than those in the system, after a leading lobby group said any possibility of the move was “unjustifiable”.

Reports yesterday warned that from this week elderly residents in public nursing homes will see the cost of their care rise from €153.25 a week to as much as €3,182. In addition, it has been claimed that elderly public nursing home residents who do not sign up to the Government’s Fair Deal nursing home scheme may have to pay between €1,000 and €3,000 for their care.

However, a HSE spokesperson insisted the increase had been overstated. “The figures used compare a person’s contribution to the cost of their care in a public home under the old long-stay charges regulations with the actual overall cost of long-term care in nursing homes. These figures have been published for the first time by the HSE as part of the nursing home support scheme which came into operation earlier this week.