Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2005
126 Mr. Neville asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if medical card holders in private nursing homes are entitled to incontinence wear; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20912/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra159 Mr. English asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if medical card holders in private nursing homes are entitled to incontinence wear; if incontinence wear is made available to all medical card holders in private nursing homes by all regional health offices; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20883/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 159 together.
Incontinence products are not available through the usual general medical services arrangements in place for the provision of drugs and non-drug items to medical card holders in the community.
Article 16.1 of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations 1993 provides that individuals resident in private nursing homes who are in receipt of a subvention from the health board may not be charged extra for any service which is considered to be essential to their maintenance in the home and common practice in most nursing homes. Such services include bed and board, nursing care appropriate to the level of dependency of the person and incontinence wear.
On 26 February 2001, on the instructions of the then Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, a letter issued to the former health boards-Eastern Regional Health Authority requesting that the necessary arrangements be put in place so that all medical card holders in receipt of subvention be supplied with incontinence wear on the same basis as if they were living in the community. This letter was not a direction pursuant to a statutory authority, there was no legal obligation on any of the health boards to implement the contents of the letter, each board could decide at its discretion how and if it would respond to the request, any board which decided to respond to the request could decide on the date to do so, and that boards could rely on article 16 of the regulations in relation to the supply of incontinence wear by nursing home proprietors if they chose to do so. Arrangements are currently in place in the majority of areas for the supply of incontinence wear to medical card holders in private nursing homes.
From 2003 additional funding was allocated towards the nursing home subvention scheme to assist with the costs of supplying incontinence wear to patients in private nursing homes who are in receipt of a subvention under the nursing home subvention scheme. This funding also assists with costs associated in managing the scheme and providing training and education in relation to incontinence issues.
