I am glad the Ministers for Finance and Justice, Equality and Law Reform are present because this is a matter of injustice and lack of finance. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important matter on the Adjournment. The issue most frequently raised at my clinic concerns the elderly who find it very difficult to get care in their old age. Families come in desperation. In some cases there are no families, in which case friends and neighbours come to see how on earth this problem can be dealt with. The issue is one of nursing home subventions. The ways in which people can be looked after include respite care, the winter bed initiative, subvention and in beds run by the North-Eastern Health Board. This issue is a nightmare for some of these families.
I recall a case last week which concerned a 91 year old lady who lives at home with her 87 year old brother in an old farmhouse. Her neighbour came to me in desperation because she had to sign herself out of Drogheda hospital. When she arrived at Esker Lodge nursing home, County Cavan, she had to sign a form stating that she would not stay more than ten days, although she had broken her hip. That is inhuman. The lady was not getting physiotherapy. However, the personnel with whom I dealt were sympathetic and I believe she is being looked after. The pressure to which she was subjected is uncalled for.
Another case is that of a 90 year old man who has been blind for some years and is no longer able to look after himself. As a result of a stroke his wife is in a wheelchair. He was in and out of hospital and sent here and yonder. He was informed that, because there was no winter bed initiative in Monaghan General Hospital and since he would have to be cared for on a long-term basis, his only hope was, possibly, Northern Ireland. How could his wife, who is in a wheelchair, travel there to see him? What arrangements would be made from a financial point of view?
It is important to remember that there are 64 people on a waiting list for subvention, one of whom is 99 years of age. This is ridiculous at a time when, as the last speaker admitted, €15 million could be found for Punchestown. It appears money can be found for everything else while the aged, the handicapped and the elderly suffer.
For those over 80 years of age, 128 per 1,000 are looked after nationally – in the mid-west the number is 140 and in the north-east the number is 91. I merely want to prove we are not abusing the system. Of those in nursing homes, 46% in the north-east are in the high dependency mode – the national average is 35%. The number of subvention beds nationally is 14 per 1,000 – in the mid-west the number is 23 per 1,000 while in the north-east it is 11. The number of non-acute beds nationally is 55 per 1,000 – in the mid-west it is 66 per 1,000 and in the north-east it is 45. So much for the Good Friday Agreement and all the help we are supposed to get in the Border area.
When the service commenced subvention was demand led. Before the last election 250 places could be subvented and now we are being asked to reduce the number to 156. If we were allowed to maintain the level at that of two years ago, none of those people would be on the waiting list. The health budget has increased by 130% to 140% during the past five years. Why have people in the north-east, especially in the Cavan-Monaghan region, to suffer such savage cuts on behalf of the most vulnerable in society? Those who have worked a lifetime and given their life to this nation are under extreme stress. Irrespective of where the money is found, I ask the Minister to ensure the subvented beds are restructured.
It is not that there is a scarcity of beds in nursing homes. There is a nursing home outside Monaghan, at Mullinahinch, which has only a few people in it. It is a brand new state-of-the-art nursing home. Its proprietors were encouraged to build it and told to get subvention. There is another in south Monaghan, along the Broomfield stretch, which is half full. The position is similar in Cavan. It is not that the beds are not available but rather the people cannot afford them. There is a need for restructuring, and for God's sake, I beg that this be done.
