Over 4,800 older people waiting for carers amid staff shortage

Delays are such a concern that Cork's Mercy University Hospital is now offering patients up to four weeks' homecare provided by hospital staff

Nurse manager Eileen Kenny, right, at Mercy University Hospital in Cork with healthcare assistants Janice O'Herlihy, Maureen Corigliano, and Paul Coleman who are offering a homecare service careplan to help patients return to independent living after a hospital stay. Picture: Larry Cummins

“There are no carers in the rural parts of Cork” is how one senior nurse summed up the homecare crisis — as the number of older people in need continues to rise.

The shortage can lead to patients even in their 90s being unable to be discharged from hospital because they are waiting for a carer to be found, even if their medical treatment is finished.