Carol Nolan: 932 waiting for home care in CHO Area 8
Carol Nolan raised concerns about rising home care waiting lists after a Home and Community Care Ireland report showed 5,556 older people were waiting nationally and 932 in CHO Area 8. She said the HSE in CHO Area 8 rationed home care for financial reasons and urged the minister to implement HCCI recommendations including a waiting list task force, targeted rural funding, a home care workforce strategy and measures to encourage providers into home care black spots.
The HCCI report, covered in the Irish Times, found 5,556 older people waiting nationally at the end of last year. CHO Area 8's waiting list rose by 31 percent to 932 people, the second highest in the state according to the figures cited.
Carol Nolan said Leash and Offaly together have between 350 and 400 people on waiting lists for home care. She warned that while normal service is slowly resuming in CHO Area 8, the impact of reduced care allocation will be felt well into this year.
Nolan attributed the increase to the HSE in CHO Area 8 stopping allocation of most new home care packages at the end of 2024, with only 50 per cent of recycled hours being allocated. She described that approach as rationing home care due to financial reasons.
She asked the minister to implement HCCI policy recommendations, including setting up a waiting list task force, delivering targeted funding for rural home care delivery, designing a home care workforce strategy and encouraging providers into home care black spots.
The minister said the Department of Health had been unhappy with the approach taken in relation to CHO 8 and had written to them. The minister noted that 24 million hours of home health were provided last year and that the budget had been doubled during the lifetime of the last government, but accepted there remains unmet demand and said a statutory home care scheme will be needed; the minister agreed to come back directly on the CHO 8 care model and to engage with HCCI.
Waiting list figures
The HCCI report, covered in the Irish Times, found 5,556 older people waiting nationally at the end of last year. CHO Area 8's waiting list rose by 31 percent to 932 people, the second highest in the state according to the figures cited.
Local impact in Offaly and Leash
Carol Nolan said Leash and Offaly together have between 350 and 400 people on waiting lists for home care. She warned that while normal service is slowly resuming in CHO Area 8, the impact of reduced care allocation will be felt well into this year.
Causes identified
Nolan attributed the increase to the HSE in CHO Area 8 stopping allocation of most new home care packages at the end of 2024, with only 50 per cent of recycled hours being allocated. She described that approach as rationing home care due to financial reasons.
Demands made to the minister
She asked the minister to implement HCCI policy recommendations, including setting up a waiting list task force, delivering targeted funding for rural home care delivery, designing a home care workforce strategy and encouraging providers into home care black spots.
Minister's response and wider context
The minister said the Department of Health had been unhappy with the approach taken in relation to CHO 8 and had written to them. The minister noted that 24 million hours of home health were provided last year and that the budget had been doubled during the lifetime of the last government, but accepted there remains unmet demand and said a statutory home care scheme will be needed; the minister agreed to come back directly on the CHO 8 care model and to engage with HCCI.
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Transcript
The Home and Community Care Ireland's new report on home care waiting lists, which was covered in yesterday's Irish Times, reveals that 5,556 older people were waiting nationally for home care at the end of last year. The waiting list in CHO Area 8, which covers my own constituency of Offaly and includes County Leash as well, rose by a steep 31 per cent to 932 people waiting. This actually represents the second highest waiting list in the state. Leash and Offaly together, between those two counties, there are between 350 and 400 people on waiting lists for home care. The reason for this increase in people waiting on the lists in Leash and Offaly is that the HSE in CHO Area 8 decided to ration home care due to financial reasons. At the end of 2024, HCCI learned that the HSE in CHO Area 8 stopped allocating most new home care packages, with only 50 per cent of recycled hours being allocated. While I understand that normal service is slowly resuming in CHO Area 8, unfortunately the impact of care will be seen well into this year. Tanishda, will you commit to the following, implementing the HCCI policy recommendations to tackle the waiting lists, such as setting up a waiting list task force, deliver targeting funding for rural home care delivery and design a home care workforce strategy, and encourage providers into home care black spots. My apologies. The point that you make on behalf of people in your area in CHO 8, but also more broadly the point you are making in relation to Home Community Care Ireland and their very worthwhile and constructive report that was published recently, and I will certainly undertake the week we comprehensively respond and engage with that organisation and with others. I do understand that the Department of Health, and I am lucky to be sitting beside Mr Butler who worked in this area for quite a number of years, Department of Health was not pleased with the approach that was taken in relation to CHO 8 and did articulate that in writing to them as well. There were 24 million hours of home health provided last year and we did double the budget during the lifetime of the last government, but I accept there is still on-met demand. I think we are going to need to get to that point of delivering the major reform of a statutory home care scheme, but let me ask the Minister to come back directly to you in relation to CHO 8 care model.