Robert Troy
Question:11. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health his proposals to increase the number of hours under the home help scheme and the number of home care packages in counties Longford and Westmeath. [20977/16]
View answerTuesday, 12 July 2016
Questions (11)
Oral answers (11 contributions)
Deputy Troy has 30 seconds to introduce the question.
I think we will all agree that the best place for our elderly and people with a disability is in their homes. I have a grave concern about the provision and availability of home help hours. Will the Minister outline in detail the number of home help hours that are available in counties Longford and Westmeath?
I thank the Deputy for his question and agree that we will all live longer, healthier and happier lives if we live in and are part of our communities. The HSE provides a range of community-based services aimed at ensuring older people receive safe, timely and appropriate care and treatment at the lowest level of complexity and as close to home as possible.
Home support services in Longford and Westmeath, similar to the experience elsewhere throughout the country, are being stretched by demands from people for more hours at times outside of core hours, in the evenings and at weekends, which all cost more. Thankfully, the Government has been able to respond to this demand by providing an extra €40 million for home care in 2016. The targets for 2016 are being reviewed in light of these additional resources.
There is no doubt that home care needs more resources than are currently available. For this reason, the programme for Government commits to increasing funding for home care packages and home help year-on-year in the coming period. There is always more that can be done in these crucial areas but it represents a step in the right direction. I am happy that we have been able to respond to the problems that have arisen this year.
On the two counties mentioned, all I can say at the moment, having only voted through the Estimates last week and the additional €40 million in funding, is that the HSE is engaging with the local community healthcare organisations, CHOs, to see how this support can be provided. The additional support should be distributed where it is needed.
I do not know how the Minister of State can be happy to say she has responded to this issue. The hours in Longford-Westmeath have been cut. If someone who had ten hours passes away today, only 25% of those hours are reallocated. I can give the House three examples in my constituency. The first is of a gentleman who is wheelchair bound and whose wife, his primary carer, died of cancer three months ago. He has been approved additional home help hours to keep him out of a home, yet no additional home help hours became available.
The second is of a woman in her late 80s who was discharged out of St. Vincent's Hospital in Athlone and who has to be lifted in and out of bed in a hoist. She has only two sons. Where is the dignity in a woman in her 80s having to be cared for by her two sons? She has been approved home help hours but she has received none. She is facing the real possibility of having to go into a nursing home.
The third example is that of a gentleman in County Longford. This man is being fed through a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, PEG, is confined to a wheelchair and is doubly incontinent. His sister took retirement to provide him with full-time care. He spent eight weeks in hospital. He has been approved home help hours but he has only received ten of the 20 hours approved. His sister was made swear an affidavit that she would take him out if he was taken in for two weeks' respite. The woman is at breaking point. She cannot take him home.
I do not know how the Minister of State can say she is happy that she has been able to respond.
We all recognise that there are serious problems in the system. When I say that I am happy, I mean that I am happy we have been able to allocate an additional €40 million in funding, which will help in the different cases mentioned by the Deputy. Unfortunately, we all know of similar cases within our constituencies. They are brought to my attention daily. As I pointed out, the Estimates were only voted on last week and it will take a number of weeks for this to make its way through the system. However, with that additional funding, the service plan for this year will be able to target 10.4 million home help hours, which will support 47,800 people. It is estimated that approximately 21,000 people will now benefit from the initial figure of 15,450 home care packages. It also means that we can increase our base for next year. While our base for home care help and packages was €331 million, it will increase to €371 million. We have given a commitment in the programme for a partnership Government to increase it year-on-year, so that figure will only get bigger. I am not happy with the current situation, but this is a step in the right direction and we need to continue moving in that direction.
Things are not getting better, they are getting worse. If additional hours are being made available and additional money is available, why is it that only 25% of existing hours which have been in place for the past six, 12 and 18 months is being reallocated? How is it fair that only 25% of existing hours is being reallocated? How is that equitable? How will it keep as many people in their own homes, which is something we want? If they are not supported, these people will end up in long-term nursing home care. This will cost more money in the long run.
It makes economic sense and good social sense to keep people in their homes. The Minister of State said that €40 million has become available. When will we see the benefits of it? When will the people of Longford-Westmeath to whom I referred get their home help hours? Saying we have made money available is no good, it does not wash for the people who need the hours now.
I will allow Deputy Alan Kelly to make one very quick comment, because two other Deputies are waiting to ask their questions. I ask him to keep it brief and will then go back to the Minister of State for a final contribution.
Deputy Troy is right. I welcome the €40 million, but there is a gap period and we are not seeing this funding on the ground. HSE officials tell me that when it is distributed it will only bring the hours back up to a certain level, which is only a drop in the ocean. That is what the Minister of State's officials are saying. I am telling her the truth.
I know of a lady in Newport who has dementia and a terminal illness. She is to get ten hours. It is an incredible scenario. I had to fight to get it increased from five hours to ten. My real point is that this is financially the most solid thing the Government could do. It costs €7,000 if a person is kept, bed blocking, in a hospital. It costs on average €1,500 to have someone in a nursing home versus €500 for the cost of a reasonable amount of home help. This is socially the right thing to do, but financially it is also the right thing to do. I ask the Minister of State to please go back and get adequate funding for this service.
The Minister of State has 30 seconds, but we need to move on.
I fully agree with the Deputies. We know that in the first quarter of last year there was a significant increase in requests for home help and home support. To ensure that number did not drop this year, funding was allocated which meant significant additional funding had to be allocated. This is the €40 million to which I have referred. I believe this will not just level out the same funding from last year but will see an increase. I am not saying it is enough.
The Minister has made it very clear that he has spoken to the different hospital groups to make sure they stay within their budgets. The more they stay within their budgets, the more it allows us to put more money into the home help service and home care packages, which will see a change in where the funding is being allocated and that will result in a saving all around.
I will take Question No. 13 before Question No. 12, with the agreement of the two Members who tabled those questions. Deputy Barry has 30 seconds to introduce his question.