Written Answers. - Care of the Elderly.
Willie Penrose
Question:
33
Mr. Penrose
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
the plans, if any, he has to act on the recommendation of the recent report of the National Council on Ageing and Older People which called for a working party within his Department to tackle the problem of abuse of older people; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10484/99]
The report in question is Abuse, Neglect and Mistreatment of Older People in Ireland: An Exploratory Study, which was recently published by the National Council on Ageing and Older People. The study was commissioned by the National Council following a request from my Department that it investigate the question of elder abuse in Ireland and advise on how it should be evaluated and responded to.
One of the main recommendations to emerge was that a working group should be established to advise on policy, procedures and guidelines on elder abuse in Ireland. In September 1998 my Department requested the national council to arrange for the publication of the report and suggested that an expert group be appointed, under the direction of the Council, to prepare guidelines and advise on appropriate procedures for dealing with the matters raised in the report.
At the time there were a number of vacancies in the membership of the National Council and it was without a Chairperson. Because of this and the importance of the subject, the council decided to defer further action on the matter until it was back to full strength. The new appointments were made at the end of December 1998 and I understand that at a meeting of the council on 10 February 1999, the establishment of an expert group was discussed. Subsequently the matter was considered by a group of council members at a special meeting and certain proposals to progress matters were put to my Department. My Department has arranged to meet the National Council on 6 May and I expect that the functions and membership of the expert group will be agreed at this meeting.
I would like to assure the Deputy that I regard any type of abuse of an older person in a serious light. What I hope will emerge from this exercise is a clear set of definitions, policies, guidelines and procedures which will lessen the possibility of abuse of an older person and where there is a suggestion that it might have occurred, agreed mechanisms for a full investigation and any appropriate responses, where required.
Thomas P. Broughan
Question:
34
Mr. Broughan
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
the steps, if any, taken or envisaged by him to fulfil the commitment made in An Action Programme for the Millennium under the heading caring for our older people to promote policies to assist the concept of independent living; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6451/99]
An Action Programme for the Millennium identified support for older people in the home, as well as support for carers, as fundamental to improving the quality of life for older people. This is also the consensus view of the various organisations which represent the interests of older people. Accordingly, I have taken a number of initiatives this year to provide greater support to older people in their homes.
The home help service is a key component in supporting dependent older people in their homes. It is generally accepted that there are a number of problems relating to the organisation and development of home help services which need to be addressed in order to realise the full potential of this service. In order to deal with the most immediate problems surrounding this service, I have earmarked a sum of £1.5 million for the development of the home help service. This allocation will be used to extend the coverage of the service by providing more hours, as well as improving training courses for home helps.
I have allocated approximately £3 million to health boards this year to bring the minimum rate of payment, for all home helps, up to £3.00 per hour from 1 April 1999. I see this as part of a phased improvement in the rate of payment for home helps, the remaining phases of which I hope to implement as resources permit. The Government has decided to increase, significantly, the income guidelines for entitlement to medical cards for persons aged 70 years or over. This improvement, which will be introduced over a three year period, began on 1 March this year, with an increase of one-third in the guidelines.
I have provided over £3 million for the further development of specialist assessment units for older people which play such an important part in the effective treatment and care of older people. This allocation is also being used to improve staffing levels in a number of extended care and day care facilities, with a view to optimising the use of these facilities. The benefits of having specialist-led services for older people attached to general hospitals are well documented and I have provided additional funding of £300,000 in 1999, to allow four additional Physicians in the Medicine of Older Age to be recruited – two in Dublin and one each in Cork and Galway. This will bring the total number of Physicians in the Medicine of Older Age to 31. I might also mention that the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs has taken measures to improve assistance to carers through the carer's allowance. He has increased by £6 the care allowance for carers over 66 years and by £3 the allowance for carers under 66 years. There will also be a once-a-year payment of £200 towards the costs of respite care. On the health side, I allocated a sum of £1 million as part of the Budget allocation for older people to health boards, specifically for the support of carers. This fund can be used for the benefit of carers in a flexible manner, based on local needs. The improvement of liaison and support for individual carers and local voluntary groups who promote the interests of carers are examples of the type of support envisaged. The Budget allocation will also enable more paramedical and nursing staff to be recruited and assigned to home care of older people which, in turn, will also assist carers. The sum of £800,000 is being earmarked for this purpose.
This package of measures for older people is a continuation of a development programme which was initiated last year, with the announcement of a greatly improved capital programme for services for older people. This programme will result in significant improvements in facilities for older people. It will address what has, heretofore, been an imbalance in resources allocated between institutional and community care. The funding now assigned to the home help service, to the recruitment of additional paramedical and nursing staff in the community and to carers' support is a clear indication of this Department's intention to address the service shortcomings in the provision of appropriate community based services to support older people at home.
