Waiting time for nursing home bed set to increase

Waiting times for a nursing home bed under the Fair Deal scheme will increase next year as a result of funding changes, the HSE has admitted.

With no additional funding available for services for older people in 2014, the HSE has decided to move funding from the nursing home support scheme to home care and community support services.

According to the HSE’s service plan for next year, 700 fewer beds will be funded under Fair Deal in 2013 compared to this year’s target.

The plan states: “While there will be an increase in waiting times for long stay residential care, there will be increased options available to support older people to remain at home, including those with dementia at risk of admission to residential care.”

The HSE plan cuts the Fair Deal budget by €35.5m. The cut includes moving €23m to community support services and projects from the Haddington Road Agreement.

Nursing Home Ireland chief executive Tadhg Daly said such a drastic cut to the scheme was illogical and short-sighted.

“We have real fears that this very significant cut to Fair Deal will have very serious consequences for the health and well-being of older people,” he said.

“Even with greater emphasis on care at home and more resources provided to realise it, the demand for residential care is going to increase significantly in the next decade.”

Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmons said: “In reality, the 2014 target is 1,702 beds less than the 23,763 nursing home beds which were funded under the scheme at the end of October.

“In addition to these 23,763 people, a further 394 were on the waiting list in October for a nursing home bed.”

Mr Timmons said it was not clear what was going to happen to the 700 to 1,700 people who will not get a nursing home bed next year.

He pointed out that the planned provision of home care package and home help hours for next year remained at the same levels budgeted for this year.

“While the HSE plans to provide 10,870 home care packages in 2013, 11,372 were provided up to the end of September this year.”