The Ombudsman's report of January 2001 set out the legal situation regarding in-patient care for elderly patients in nursing homes. In the report the Ombudsman stated:
The legal position in relation to hospital inpatient services both in 1990 and at present was and is relatively straightforward. Everybody resident in the State is eligible to be provided with inpatient services where necessary by the relevant health board. The service may be provided directly by the health board in one of its own hospitals or in another publicly funded hospital or by way of a contracting out arrangement between the health board and private institutions such as nursing homes.
Since that is the legal situation regarding in-patient care for elderly patients in nursing homes, why are elderly patients still paying huge nursing home bills? Why is the Government standing over what is in effect an illegality, implemented by the Department of Health and Children and the health boards? There is no discretion in this matter. It is the law of the land and must be implemented. Why has the Ombudsman's report not been implemented 13 months later?
Does the Government intend to introduce legislation which withdraws this legal entitlement to free nursing home care? The section of the Finance Bill dealing with tax deductible nursing home fees would appear to be a straw in the wind. There are indications that the Government intends to withdraw this benefit from the elderly in nursing homes.
The situation on the ground is that it costs at least €200 to keep a patient in a nursing home over and above the subvention being paid by the health boards and social welfare payments. That is approximately £160 per week. That means the elderly person's savings are drained away over a very short period and I know many elderly people who do not have enough savings left for burial expenses. It also means sons and daughters must fund the shortfall. In effect, these sons and daughters are paying what amounts to a second mortgage.
Worse still, elderly people are being pressurised to sell the family home to meet nursing home fees. What is happening is that health boards are deducting what they term a notional rent based on the value of the family home. That is being deducted from subventions payable by health boards to patients in nursing homes. This is outrageous. These elderly people have given years to building up the country and now they are under severe pressure to sell their own homes to pay for nursing home care. Will the Minister instruct health boards immediately to stop this latter day eviction, which is what I call it? It is a policy of eviction. The family home should be sacrosanct, at least as it is in social welfare legislation.
There is huge public anger with this issue. The Minister would do well to take what I have said seriously and to implement the law which entitles the elderly to free nursing home care.