It is unfortunate the Minister for Health and Children has not been able to attend tonight to reply to this debate.
Yesterday the distressing story of a 52 year old man with Alzheimer's disease was featured in the Evening Herald. Up to two years ago this man was leading a perfectly normal life but, with the rapid onset of Alzheimer's disease, he now requires constant care. Seven months ago he was placed in a private nursing home in Dublin but his family have been told by the nursing home that it is no longer able to care for him because of the nature of his illness.
This heartrending story is not unusual. Hundreds of families throughout the country are acutely aware of the huge shortfall in care facilities for people with dementia. Nursing home facilities for such people are grossly inadequate, particularly for male patients. Many nursing homes, like the one we heard about yesterday, are forced to turn down patients with acute dementia because of their inability to meet the care needs of these patients.
With nowhere else to go, these patients are often placed in general hospitals which are totally unsuited to their needs. Unfortunately, it is often the case that because a general hospital does not suit Alzheimer's patients' needs, they are sedated to a much greater extent than is medically necessary. This is simply to allow them to be contained within hospitals. This is a totally unacceptable practice and only arises because of the severe lack of places available for such patients.
When it comes to providing private care, most families do not have the money to place their loved ones in a care facility that will provide the type of professional care that they so desperately require. As it stands, families with a member in a private nursing home are entitled to receive a maximum of £120 a week as a subvention. This leaves a huge shortfall to be met. My reason for raising this issue is that it was recently brought starkly to my attention by a constituent whose 79 year old father has acute dementia. He has been cared for by his 75 year old wife for the last number of years. She has provided tremendous care and attention in a loving setting at home, but it has reached the point where she will not survive herself if she continues doing so. The family applied for a subvention and they were granted the maximum amount of £120. They sought a nursing home place and they eventually found a suitable place in Whitehall in the Alzheimer's centre, where the man settled in well.
When the family went to claim the subvention from the health board, they were told they were not entitled to it because the man was in a nursing hospital facility rather than a nursing home. I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure that a minor technicality such as this does not prevent a family ensuring that their loved one receives the type of care and attention to which he is entitled and which they desperately want him to have at the end of his days. When they brought this matter to my attention, I contacted the Eastern Health Board which checked every nursing home in the city of Dublin that was capable of catering for Alzheimer's patients. It was unable to find a place. There is one facility on the north side of Dublin which may be suitable but, unfortunately, there are no beds there at present. The family were told that they would have to wait until a patient died.
They are not prepared to move their father out of a nursing facility which meets his needs exactly. As it stands, the family will have to make up the huge shortfall because it is not a cheap facility by any means. Under great pressure, the family is prepared to scrimp and save and to put together the money to make up the balance. However, I cannot understand why the Minister of State cannot approve the payment of the £120 subvention in this case. I point out that the family has no other choice whatsoever. It is out of the question for this man to come home and for his elderly wife to care for him and there is nowhere else in the entire Eastern Health Board area which can cater for this man.
I appeal to the Minister in the strongest possible manner to ensure that a small, minor technicality will not get in the way of this man receiving the care he needs. I urge him to ensure that the subvention can be paid to the man in this suitable facility which happens to be a nursing hospital.
