NHI conference hears calls for increased funding and better preparation for an ageing population
Speaking at the Nursing Homes Ireland annual conference in Kilkenny, Mr Daly called for significantly improved State funding of nursing homes and warned that Ireland was poorly prepared for the projected increase in older people in the population.
Mr Daly acknowledged some progress had been made but added: “the change has not been rapid enough and it is coming off a low base”. Residents of nursing homes should have the same access to specialist services as those living at home, he emphasised. “We do recruit from overseas but there are huge additional costs involved – the average healthcare assistant recruited from overseas will cost €5,000, a nurse will cost €9,000-10,000. That’s a big challenge.”“Our uppermost challenge is financial viability. Despite the fact we have invested heavily in the past four years – to the tune of €7 million just prior to Covid – we’re experiencing very high demand. We offer a very good service, but we cannot fund the cost of that.
“It’s a myth that HSE nursing homes have patients with more complex needs. The facts don’t bear it out, in many cases our dependence levels are higher. Sometimes we take patients who were not accepted by the public system because it couldn’t meet their needs.”“Funding is hugely important. We want to provide the best care we can to our residents but it gets harder and harder to do that when the funding is so tight.Ciaran Larmour, managing director of Glas Care Group: 'The funding is so tight.
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