Elderly must pay for care while on scheme waiting list

ELDERLY people will be forced to pay weekly fees averaging almost €900 for nursing home care while waiting for entry approval to the state’s nursing home support scheme (NHSS) following a change in the way it operates.

Prior to October 1, anyone awaiting approval under the Fair Deal scheme had their fees back-paid by the HSE once they were accepted. Fair Deal meant nursing home care could be paid for from your estate after your death.

Now, with the scheme under financial pressure, those who applied for funding under Fair Deal from last week will have to shoulder the cost of their own care until approval comes through, with no prospect of back-pay.

Groups representing the elderly have reacted angrily to the change, as have providers of nursing home care, including Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI).

While the Department of Health said it had approved the change on foot of assurances from the HSE that average processing times should not exceed four to six weeks, Age Action said it had information to the contrary.

Spokesman Gerard Scully said they knew of cases where applicants were waiting 12 weeks.

Tadhg Daly, NHI chief executive, said they were also concerned the change may lead to delayed hospital discharges, exacerbating the existing difficulties in the system&.

Irish charity Friends of the Elderly described the rule change as “inhumane”.

The average weekly cost of private nursing home care is €865 and €1,245 in HSE-run facilities.