Nurses dismiss ‘home help at 2012 levels’ claim

A claim by the health minister that home-help and home care package services have been preserved at 2012 levels has been countered by nurses who cited examples of elderly and infirm patients who have had home support hours cut this year.

Mary Keenan, a public health nurse in Co Kildare, said she knew a woman in her 80s, with a handicapped daughter in her 50s, who had all their home help hours removed.

Ms Keenan said another patient of hers, a blind, insulin-dependent elderly man, had had his home care reduced to a 30 minutes a week.