Fair Deal scheme ‘the Achilles heel of hospital sector’

Fair Deal, the State’s nursing home support scheme, has become the Achilles heel of the acute hospital system, according to HSE director general Tony O’Brien.

Mr O’Brien told the Joint Committee on Health and Children yesterday that, without extra resources, there would be 2,200 people waiting up to 20 weeks for funding by the end of the year.

“When you look at what’s happening in the acute hospital system right now, it could be said that the funding mechanisms and the arrangements for the Fair Deal scheme, as welcome as they are in terms of the benefit it brings to those who gain access, has become the Achilles’ heel of the acute hospital system,” he said.