Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 January 2015
709. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive has identified the reasons some 1,200 nursing home beds are unoccupied, as confirmed by a survey conducted by Nursing Homes Ireland, which also confirmed the existence of 178 vacancies at 23 nursing homes in County Galway; and if so if the HSE has compiled the actions that need to be taken urgently so as to reduce pressure on acute hospital facilities [1760/15]
View answerThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) is a system of financial support for those in need of long-term nursing home care.
Under the Scheme, residents themselves are free to choose their own nursing home provided that it participates in the Scheme. Demand is stronger in some areas of the country more than in others, and some facilities may also be more popular than others for various reasons. In addition, to manage the available funds through the year, the HSE operates a national placement list in order of when applications are approved, and funding is released in strict chronological order as it becomes available. Demand has exceeded what could be funded in recent months, and waiting times have accordingly increased for release of funding.
The budget for the NHSS in 2015 is €948.8m. This includes an increase of €10m allocated to the initiative related to delayed discharges. This increase will allow for the provision of an additional 300 long stay care places under the NHSS. In 2015 the HSE's National Service Plan's projected target of people in receipt of financial support for long term residential care is 22,361.
In light of the recent pressures in Emergency Departments the HSE is accessing all suitable non-acute accommodation to the maximum extent possible to allow those who have been clinically discharged to leave acute hospitals.
