ALONE, the charity that supports older people to age at home, is calling on the government to make homecare a legal right, ensuring that all older people are supported to age in the community.
Sean Moynihan, CEO of ALONE, commented, “The principle of ageing at home, and having the right and ability to do so, has been government policy since the 1970s. It has cross-party support, it’s in the programme for government and it was in every political party’s 2016 general election manifesto.Despite the stated intention to support people staying in their homes, there is no legal right to home care in Ireland. In the Fair Deal Scheme if you are assessed for a nursing home place and deemed to qualify, the state is legally obliged to ensure you get a bed. If you are assessed for home care, it may be decided that you need eight hours a week but you will only get whatever the resources will allow which could be 2 hours a week.”
Repeated studies have demonstrated that ageing at home is the first choice of older people and their families. A 2016 study found that over 50% of older people awaiting, or sent to, long term care (nursing homes) from hospital wished to remain at home and could have done so. Home help hours are proven to be a much more cost effective and person-centred way of supporting people with medium support needs to age at home rather than moving them into the nursing home system.
Fine Gael’s 2016 manifesto promised 12.6 million annual home help hours. However, in reality this figure was at less than 10.5 million hours. Therefore, there was no increase on 2015 figures. Overall, approximately 1.3 million home help hours have been cut since 2010. In that time, the number of older people in the state has increased by 18%.
ALONE believes that investing in home care packages is a major part of solving the hospital trolley crisis and overcrowding in emergency departments, as older people are being forced to remain in acute hospital beds due to lack of supports to go home.
Moynihan commented, “Older people made up 81% of all delayed discharges in the most recent figures from the HSE (August 2016). Delayed discharge is linked to a lack of access to long term care facilities and organisation of community supports. The older person may be medically ready to leave the hospital but are unable to as the necessary care, support or accommodation is not readily available. A home care package would only cost around €400 a week while keeping an older person in hospital, taking up an acute bed, can cost up to €7,000 a week.”
Moynihan concluded, “Nursing Homes play a key role in the care of the very old with high support needs. However, with Ireland’s older population set to reach 1.4 million over the next 30 years, the state’s statutory obligation to provide long-term residential care must be extended to community care. The provision of quality home care packages for older people is a necessity.”
For those who have concerns about their own wellbeing, or the wellbeing of a vulnerable older person in their community, ALONE can be contacted on (01) 679 1032 or visit www.alone.ie
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Service Manager
Kevin White
089 409 0549
Balbriggan, Skerries & Lusk
Vacant
0818 222 024
St. Margaret”s, Finglas & Glasnevin
Maura O’Shea
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Coordinator
Michael Kennedy
086 440 2894
Telephone Support Coordinator
Jacob Shakespeare
Telephone Support Coordinator
Anne Marie mc Allister
086 440 7825
Telephone Support Officer
Vacant
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Officer
Sharon McManus
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Officer
Vacant
0818 222 024
Service Manager
Greg O’Reilly
083 385 1221
North Meath & Ardee
Paula Boyce
0818 222 024
East Meath
John Stillman
0818 222 024
Location tbc
Vacant
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Coordinator
Anne Murphy
086 035 3904
Volunteer Support Officer
Frances Sheerin
086 108 5965
National Support Line Coordinators
National Support Line Coordinators
National Support Line Coordinators
National Support Line Coordinators
Aoife Callaghan
Sarah kerr
Aoife Callaghan
Bridgeen Coyle
086 032 6801
087 179 3782
086 032 6801
086 014 6732
Service Manager
Natalie Johnson
083 062 5854
South Dublin Inner City
Vacant
0818 222 024
Rathfarnham, Knocklyon & Ballyboden
Vacant
0818 222 024
Newcastle, Citywest & Saggart
Joe Sullivan
0818 222 024
Northwest Kildare
Annemarie Molloy
Patricia Scanlon
086 013 7256
Service Manager
Shelby Unger
083 060 2419
Volunteer Support Officer
Grainne Kennedy
086 108 2524
Volunteer Support Officer
Vacant
0818 222 024
Service Manager
Lola Fitzgibbon
086 084 1360
Southwest Wexford
Natalia Gembicka
086 014 4915
Service Manager
Siobhan Walsh
086 084 1674
Northeast Cork
Vacant
0818 222 024
Central Cork
Veronica Reidy
Clare Seymour
086 075 3867
086 107 9433
Telephone Support Coordinator
Geraldine Commins
086 013 1570
Volunteer Support Officer
Mairead Egan
087 253 1380
Volunteer Support Officer
Maria O’Connor
Volunteer Support Officer
Tracey Kearney
086 440 9893
Service Manager
Martina Kinane
087 407 4085
Caroline Bradley
West Limerick
Margaret Collum
Volunteer Support Officers
Aoife Dennehy
086 211 5307
Volunteer Support Officers
Vacant
0818 222 024
Service Manager
Ciaran Gilligan
083 878 6080
Service Manager
Frances Browne
087 751 6087
Inishowen (CHN Learning Site)
Bronagh Doyle
086 171 6984
Inishowen (CHN Learning Site)
Gráinne Hargan
West Donegal
Emma Kennedy
086 720 8686
Donegal inishowen
Vacant
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Coordinator
Deirdre Browne
074 932 1598
Telephone Support Coordinator
Catherine Reilly
National Support & Referral Line Coordinator
Kathleen Bonner