Home Care Support needed to allow vulnerable people return home May 30, 2019

The current high profile cases of urgent need for home care support to allow vulnerable people return home from hospital once again underlines the need for a statutory system of home care provision backed by effective oversight and regulation.

These cases underline the challenges which Ireland is facing as it starts to implement Sláintecare which has all party agreement on the way forward for the Health Service but is less clear on the area of social care.

From the experience of Sage Advocacy in the last few years, we see an urgent need to develop a special fund for people with sudden onset conditions such as stroke ad acquired brain injury whose care needs are considerable and whose cases compelling, but who are contending with the needs of the general population of older people in need of support.

Sage Advocacy recently published a discussion document, ‘A New Deal’ on funding long term support and care which urged that the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (the ‘Fair Deal’) and home care should be integrated into one streamlined system funded by social insurance and inheritance tax.

High profile cases, such as we have seen in the past month, are the other side of the trolley watch statistics.  It is noteworthy that the focus is still on counting trolleys and not the home care needs which could relieve the pressure on those hospitals.

A New Deal: A discussion document on funding long-term support & care

For further information or interviews please contact Valerie Cox on 087 6858406.