Nursing home sets the standard we need

MUCH has been spoken and written about nursing homes since the RTÉ Prime Time programme exposed the problems in one privately-owned institution.

Many institutions calling themselves nursing homes should be called retirement homes. While this may not at first seem an important distinction, it is, in fact, fundamental to the issue.

The structure and level of care needed in a nursing home, the level of staff competence and skill, does not compare to what is required in a retirement home.

Much focus has been put on the institutions which are sub-standard but very little on those which are excellent and which may be used to set the standard. In this regard, Government, Department of Health and the Health Services Executive need go no further than St Patrick’s Hospital/Marymount in Cork. Here one can find the excellence which should prevail in all nursing homes whether it be adequate staffing levels, staff expertise and skill, commitment to service, understanding of the needs of those elderly people who are very ill and need a high level of care and, critically, an understanding of the needs of families of those who are in their care.

St Patrick’s could well be regarded as the template for what should be available to all elderly people who become seriously ill and are in need of nursing care. It is, quite simply, among the best and is a perfect example of what should be available to all.

Paddy Mulcahy

13 Courtlands

Silversprings

Cork