Charity wants HIQA standards applied to home care sector

An Irish charity is launching a campaign today to have the Health Information & Quality Authority standards of safety and care extended to cover the home care sector.

Friends of the Elderly says the private home care sector is unregulated and unsupervised and that since the launch of the Home Care Package there has been an explosive growth in the sector.

According to the organisation, the HSE does not even know how many companies are operating in Ireland because the companies do not have to inform the HSE of their existence.

Friends of the Elderly hope to get 10,000 signatures of support through its website, www.friendsoftheelderly.ie.