Skip to main content
Normal View

Health Care Professionals

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2017

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

Questions (1474)

Josepha Madigan

Question:

1474. Deputy Josepha Madigan asked the Minister for Health the regulations in place regarding the provision of professional care for the elderly; and the way it is vetted. [28711/17]

View answer

Written answers

The Health Information and Quality Authority is the independent authority established under the Health Act 2007 to drive continuous improvement and to monitor safety and quality in Ireland's health and personal social care services. Since 2009 all nursing homes - public, voluntary and private have been registered and inspected by HIQA.

This responsibility is underpinned by a comprehensive framework, including the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013 (as amended), and new National Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People which were approved in 2016.

The Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013 provide that the person in charge and each member of staff have a vetting disclosure in accordance with the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act, 2012.

Primary legislation and resources will be required for the introduction of a statutory regulation system for home care services. However, the HSE has already progressed a range of measures to improve its Home Care provision overall. A Procurement Framework for Home Care Services came into effect in mid-2012. This framework, which requires service providers to meet defined minimum standards applies to services procured by the HSE from external providers and the process was most recently repeated in 2016. Providers of home care services are monitored through Service Level Agreements with the HSE. They are required to provide a prescribed range of information in relation to the services they provide, and are supervised through regular local operational meetings and reviews of clients' care plans. The purpose of these measures is to promote quality and safety and to ensure a more standardised approach to service provision nationally. Home Care Services are reviewed regularly by the HSE. In addition, the HSE has in place a complaints procedure that is available to all service users.

The Department is currently engaged in a detailed process to determine what type of home care scheme is best for Ireland. This process will consider the future design of both the funding and regulation systems for these crucial services.

As an initial step, the Department commissioned the Health Research Board to undertake an evidence review of the home care systems that are in place in four other European countries. This review was published on 11 April. The Review will help us to learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions and will inform the debate and future consideration of approaches to formal home care financing and regulation here in Ireland.

Another important step in this process is a public consultation process which I will be launching shortly. The purpose of this consultation is to allow all those who have views on this topic to have their say, including older people themselves, their families, and healthcare workers. The Department wants to find out what people think about current home care services and would also like to hear the public’s views on what the future scheme should look like. I strongly urge all those with an interest in home care services to make a submission to the consultation.

Top
Share