Options to provide additional support to nursing homes are being explored, such as to help with the often costly nature of compliance for nursing homes under necessary Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) regulations. I expect the proposed options to be examined in the Estimates process of Budget 2024, as they are currently under development.
The Government is conscious of the financial challenges faced by the nursing home sector, especially smaller and voluntary nursing homes that may not have access to the same economies of scale as larger homes or groups. The Government has provided substantial support to the private and voluntary nursing home sector over the course of the pandemic. Over €150m of financial support has been provided to private and voluntary nursing homes through the COVID-19 Temporary Assistance Payment Scheme (TAPS) and the provision of free PPE and oxygen to private nursing homes continues, costing over €77 million to date.
A new €10 million scheme (TIPS) was established last year to support private and voluntary nursing homes with increases in energy costs, covering 75% of year-on-year cost increases up to a monthly cap of €5,250 per nursing home. This scheme has been extended for a second time to the end of June 2023.
Budget 2023 saw over €40 million in additional funding for the Nursing Home Support Scheme (NHSS) which will provide for an uplift in the maximum prices chargeable by private and voluntary nursing homes, as negotiated. Anyone who has had a scheduled renegotiation of their Deed of Agreement this year with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has seen a significant uplift. I am conscious of private and voluntary nursing homes that are not scheduled to renegotiate their Deed of Agreement in 2023 and other options are being considered. One of the options under consideration is for nursing home providers to agree to a shorter contract duration with the NTPF.
Important strands of reform to the nursing home sector are being, or have been, brought forward. The Government remains committed to delivering on:
• The nine recommendations that emerged from the Value for Money Review on Nursing Home Costs,
• The 86 recommendations of COVID-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel, especially those recommendations related to long-term sectoral reform,
• The four recommendations of the NTPF Review of Pricing System for Long Term Residential Care Facilities, and
• The 16 recommendations of the Strategic Workforce Advisory Group on Home Carers and Nursing Home Health Care Assistants.
Work continues within the Department of Health to deliver on all of these recommendations, as well as analysing the outcomes of the Skills Mix and Safe Staffing pilots which will serve to inform future policy.
Given the size, complexity and cost of the NHSS, implementation is complex and any changes in policy direction need to be carefully assessed and kept under review. The Department of Health is consistently seeking to identify improvements and introduce enhancements to the scheme, where feasible, which aims to ensure that long-term nursing home care is sustainable, accessible and affordable for everyone and that people continue to be cared for in the most appropriate settings.
