‘Slowdown’ in nursing home allocation

THERE has been a “marked” slowdown in the processing of applications for nursing home places under the state’s Nursing Home Support Scheme, Age Action has claimed.

The HSE said yesterday it was accepting applications and approving funding under the scheme, also known as the Fair Deal, within the resources allocated.

However, a caller to RTÉ’s Liveline yesterday said her 81-year-old father, who suffers from dementia and Parkinson’s disease, had been refused a nursing home bed under the scheme. The caller said her mother suffered badly from arthritis and was being treated in hospital. Her father, who needs 24-hour care, was in respite care.