Ms Joan O'Connor:

On the point about young people being placed in nursing homes, we sit on the national consultative forum and the main problem seems to be budgetary and resources not being available. When people are admitted to a nursing home, the common summary assessment report is filled in. It poses a question about the appropriateness of the placement. DFI is conducting research and analysing the forms to ascertain how appropriate placements in nursing homes are. My understanding is funding is not available for the necessary number of packages of health and social care supports. It is almost like there must be a crisis. A pot of money can then be accessed through the fair deal scheme and the person concerned will end up in a nursing home. We also receive many calls from people living in nursing homes to tell us about their situation and that they do not want to be there. There are younger people, but the level of care does not support progression towards independent living or helping them to do something for themselves. Co-operation is needed in the identification of resources within the health budget to resolve the issue.