The Minister announced on Monday that the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, A Fair Deal, will commence on the 27th October 2009. The scheme is a new system of financial support for individuals in public, voluntary and approved private nursing homes. The scheme is available to anyone assessed as needing long-term nursing home care regardless of their age. However, it does not cover long-term residential care in other settings.
In order to become approved for the purposes of the scheme, a private nursing home must:
a. be registered and subject to inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA),
b. have agreed a price for the purposes of the scheme with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), and
c. hold a valid tax clearance certificate.