Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 December 2022
14. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Health the measures that he is taking to address the current challenges in the nursing home sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61025/22]
View answerMy question to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, seeks to ascertain what measures are being taken to address the current challenges in the nursing home sector. I ask her to make a statement on the matter.
I thank the Deputy for her question. The Government is conscious of the financial challenges faced by the nursing home sector and has acted accordingly. The cost of residential care to the State was €1.4 billion last year. We received approximately €350 million back from people who avail of the fair deal support mechanism. As of today, there are 22,613 people living in nursing homes receiving support under fair deal. The full cost is €9.45 billion. Private nursing homes received nearly 70% of this funding under their agreements made independently with the National Treatment Purchase Fund.
I am conscious that small and voluntary nursing homes are facing challenges at the moment. In November, I announced the €10 million temporary inflation payments scheme to alleviate the pressures faced by nursing homes as a result of increasing energy prices. Private and voluntary nursing homes can claim 75% of year-on-year cost increases up to a maximum payment of €5,250 per month. I backdated this to 1 July. Therefore, a nursing home can claim in total up to €31,500 from 1 July of this year to 31 December. We will keep it under review.
More than €145 million has been claimed by nursing homes under the temporary assistance payment scheme, TAPS, since it was introduced in 2020. I have also continued this scheme for any nursing home that currently has an outbreak of Covid-19 and needs those extra financial supports to deal with it. Last month, for example, 72 nursing homes had an open outbreak of Covid-19.
Substantial other supports have been provided. Since April 2020, the State has been providing free personal protective equipment, PPE, and free oxygen to the private and voluntary nursing home sector. The estimated cost is €72 million to date. This year's cost was €23 million in those types of supports.
The Minister of State and I often talk about how we are all getting older. We know from the Department of Health report that was just published that Ireland's population is ageing faster than anywhere else in Europe. It is important that we make sure services that provide support, such as nursing homes, are adequately funded.
I met with representatives from some nursing homes recently. One of the issues that came up is that while the HSE is recruiting, some of them feel they are losing staff to the HSE from their nursing homes. The reason they are saying this is that the benefits with the HSE outweigh what they can provide.
The other issue raised was that the majority of smaller nursing homes cannot compete with the HSE. In the fair deal scheme, private nursing homes are on an average of a little over €1,000 per week per resident but the HSE is on double that amount, over €2,000 per week. That has become a huge issue.
The Department of Health acknowledges that there are variations in the cost of care across public community hospitals as against private nursing homes. I visited Sacred Heart Hospital, Carlow with the Deputy.
You did.
It is a fantastic facility. Does the Deputy remember, on the day we were there, the amount of work being done with the integrated care programme for older persons, ICPOP, team, in relation to supporting people to age well at home, nutrition and dietary requirements and the risk of frailty and falls?
The HSE will always step in where a resident's needs are sufficiently complex that they cannot be cared for elsewhere in the community. The HSE needs to be staffed to deliver that kind of complex care. The average price per person for a private nursing home is €1,050 per week; the average cost for complex services in HSE hospitals is approximately €1,650.
I know how hard the Minister of State works and how dedicated she is. At a recent meeting, I was informed that, by the end of 2022, almost 500 beds will be wiped out and closed in smaller nursing homes in rural communities. These are owned by the single owners, not the big companies. That is the biggest issue. We have spoken about this on several occasions. I know the Minister of State's commitment and dedication. When I met with the nursing homes, they said during Covid the payments were exceptional. They were happy with the payments and know the work the Minister of State has done but there are huge challenges. I know the Minister of State is aware of them. It is important we do not lose any small or private nursing homes because they feel they cannot compete with the HSE.
I thank the Deputy for the way in which she addressed this. I am in discussions with Department officials to examine ways in which funding can continue to be used to support, where necessary and appropriate, those nursing homes not scheduled to renegotiate their deeds of agreement this year. We are also looking at an expected extension of the temporary inflation payment scheme.
The Department's records show that 18 nursing homes have closed this year with a reduction of 514 registered beds. This includes two nursing homes with a total of 43 beds that were not active. Four nursing homes have opened with a total of 448 registered beds so the number of residents who have needed to move to other facilities will be lower. I take on board the Deputy's point that we are losing small and voluntary family-run nursing homes in communities where they are hugely important. This is an area I am focusing on.
Thank you. I know you are.
