'Nursing homes have given up referring to the HSE because the service isn’t there'

 Mary Burke , director of nursing at Killure Bridge Nursing Home in Waterford.

The final two nursing homes in a public-private partnership programme that was originally due to be completed two years ago are expected to open by December, including a facility in Cork City, the minister of state for older people has said.

Kieran O’Donnell said a total of 230 additional public nursing home beds are expected to come on stream by the end of the year through a number of pathways.

Referring to the HSE’s public-private partnership with EquiSisk for seven nursing homes, he said five facilities, including those in Killarney, Midleton, and Clonmel, are already in operation.

“My key focus this year is to get those PPP [public-private partnership] nursing homes open,” he told the Irish Examiner at the Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) conference in Kilkenny yesterday.

He said the remaining two homes are currently going through the Hiqa registration process.

The seven-home programme provides 530 beds, although some are replacement beds for in older units.

Mr O’Donnell also said he expects work on the Heather House dementia unit in Cork to be completed this year. The project had previously been expected to open in 2025.

Meanwhile, a director of nursing at a Waterford home said that private nursing homes struggle to offer the same therapies as public homes or public community services.

Challenges for private homes

Mary Burke from Killure Bridge nursing home also said it can be challenging to find GP cover for private homes. An estimated 80% of nursing homes are now private or voluntary-run.

“If I was an 80-year-old lady living at home, I could get a lot more services there than when I move to a private nursing home,” she said.

“So access to physiotherapy, access to dietitians, speech and language therapists; most private nursing homes are outsourcing that from private providers.” Killure Bridge pays for therapists out of its State funding under Fair Deal so residents do not pay extra. Private homes can refer residents to HSE services.

Ms Burke said: “Nursing homes have given up referring to the HSE now because the service isn’t there, it’s very hard to get. And they’re really important for people.” She was told of waits amounting to months and up to a year.

“Sometimes, they will respond they can’t meet your needs,” she said.

Ms Burke wants private nursing homes funding to match HSE services as this would increase access to therapies and help prevent homes closing. She said two private homes have closed in Waterford.

Corrective action needed

Rural access is a key issue for NHI chief executive Tadhg Daly, who pointed to a voluntary home in Tipperary which transferred to HSE control this year.

“Overnight the weekly fee rate under the nursing homes support scheme increased by 95%,” he said.

The number of residents did not change but the funding per person shot up.

“We’ve written to the minister around this, saying this is an express acknowledgment of the issue,” he said.

“The funding model is an active disincentive at the moment to the creation of the additional capacity required.” This is hitting areas such as West Kerry, he said. “I don’t see [change] happening in the short-term unless we take corrective action around the funding model.”