Mary Lou McDonald
Question:687. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Health the progress made on the commitment to introduce a statutory home care scheme. [9312/20]
View answerWednesday, 3 June 2020
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Written answers
A high-quality, consistent home-support service, focused on keeping people well in their homes and communities for as long as possible, is a key enabler to ensuring that people across a continuum of care get the right care, in the right place, at the right time. In this regard, my Department is in the process of developing a statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home support.
As part of this, work is on-going to determine the optimal approach to the development of the scheme within the broader context of the Sláintecare reforms. Work undertaken in 2019 focussed on the design of the scheme, the options for regulation, and a review of existing services. In 2020, it had been intended to focus on piloting a reformed model of service delivery for home support services, the development of the evidence base for the financing of home support services; and the development of a framework for the regulation of these services.
Progress on the development of the scheme, including the planned testing of a pilot scheme in 2020, has been impacted by the ongoing work and diversion of resources as part of the response to COVID-19. However, my Department remains committed to bringing forward this work as a priority, taking on board the learning from the response to COVID-19, in order to support people to age well and continue to live independently in their homes for as long as possible.