Mary Butler
Ceist:109. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Health the reason there is no planned increase in the number of home help hours to be provided in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4660/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 1 February 2017
Ceisteanna (109)
Freagraí scríofa
It is Government policy that long-term nursing home care should be a last resort and we want to develop home care services to provide a more viable alternative to nursing home care for a greater number of people.
The overall funding for Services for Older People is €765 million in 2017. This includes additional funding for home care services which is aimed at allowing people to continue to live in their own homes and at facilitating discharge of older people from acute hospitals.
The HSE’s National Service Plan for 2017 provides for a target of:
- 10.57 million Home Help Hours to support about 49,000 people;
- 16,750 Home Care Packages and
- 190 Intensive Home Care Packages for clients with complex needs including 60 clients with dementia supported with co-funding from Atlantic Philanthropies under the Irish National Dementia Strategy.
This represents an increase on home care in comparison to last year’s Service Plan, which had a target of 10.4 million hours home help and 15,450 Home Care Packages.
Despite this significant level of service provision, the demand for Home Care continues to grow. It is important to note that the allocation of funding for home care across the system, though significant, is finite and services must therefore be delivered within the funding available. The level of activity and associated costs must be managed in each of the nine Community Healthcare Organisations in a way that ensures that those with the greatest needs are supported and that the overall expenditure on home care services by the HSE does not exceed the available funding.
The development of a new home care scheme is a priority for me, as Minister. The Department has commenced an examination of options to bring greater national consistency to the regulation and financing of home care. This work began in 2016 with a review by the Health Research Board of how home care is regulated and funded in comparable jurisdictions, commissioned by the Department. The review will be finalised and published shortly and will be used to inform the development of policy proposals for the regulation and funding of these services. In addition, a public consultation process will be launched in the coming months to allow stakeholders, including older people, their families and healthcare workers to express their views regarding a new home care scheme.