Mr. Michael Fitzgerald:

The requirement is connected to the person's care plan. If the requirements of that person changed and there were further additional duties required, an increase from half an hour to one hour, or whatever length of time was required, would certainly be put in place. There are certain aspects of the care plans that only require half an hour. There were many discussions around having a minimum of one hour service, but people felt that half an hour was quite adequate in many circumstances to meet the specific requirements of certain people. The visit might just be a drop in to help a person go to the toilet, to make sure he or she has eaten or has taken his or her medication. It also serves as an oversight or supervision of the person, to make sure the person is getting on with his or her business for the day. A half an hour is adequate for that. My own mother gets the half hour visit every once in a while, and it absolutely fits the bill for her needs.