Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 October 2022
619. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Health his proposals to address the cost increases relating to inflation to private and voluntary nursing homes; and the way that his Department and the National Treatment Purchase Fund will address these challenges to ensure that private and voluntary nursing homes remain operational. [48097/22]
View answerI am acutely aware of the specific challenges faced by the nursing homes sector related to price inflation and increased energy costs. It is imperative that nursing homes manage potential cost pressures in line with their regulatory and contractual responsibilities, maintaining their quality of care so that residents’ lived experience and comfort is not affected. The Government has provided substantial supports to the nursing homes sector over the course of the pandemic. Over €144 million has been claimed by nursing homes under the Temporary Assistance Payments Scheme (TAPS) since spring 2020. TAPS continues in effect and the Government has now agreed to extend the scheme for nursing homes to the end of the year. The scheme will be refocused on addressing this year's inflationary pressures related to energy and heating. Details are being finalised and these will be communicated in the coming days. Funding to support people to access services in the sector continues to be provided in line with the long-established statutory mechanisms under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009. This is the mechanism established by the Oireachtas to provide for the processes relating to funding under the NHSS and the negotiation of prices for services for private and voluntary providers with the designated State agency, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). Maximum prices for individual Nursing Homes are agreed with the NTPF following negotiations and based on the NTPF’s cost criteria. These criteria include: - Costs reasonably incurred by the nursing home- Local market prices- Historic prices- Overall budgetary capacity The NTPF carry out this role independently under the NHSS Act 2009 and there is no role for Ministers or the Department in these negotiations. It should also be noted that the Department continues to work with the NTPF to take forward the recommended actions that emerged from the review of the NTPF pricing system published in June 2021.
A Value for Money (VFM) Review on Nursing Home Care Costs has also been carried out under the direction of a Steering Committee with an independent chair. The VFM Review sought to identify, quantify and analyse the reasons for any cost differential between private/voluntary and public nursing homes and, following analysis, to make recommendations for improving the value for money obtained by the Health sector. The review was published in December 2021 and can be viewed by following this link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/3859f-a-value-for-money-review-of-nursing-home-care-costs/ Among the issues raised were the pay costs of staff in nursing homes, the dependency levels of residents, energy costs, and medical supplies charges to the NHSS. The report found that the cost differential is largely driven by variances in staff-to-resident ratios and the skill mix in public and private nursing homes. However, the review also found that establishing like-for-like comparisons was complex and not always possible, especially when considering differences in dependency levels. The VFM Review made nine recommendations which the Department continues to take forward.
