Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I will come back to the issue of nursing homes. At a previous meeting, I raised the fact that the average cost of a public nursing home in the County Laois area is more than €2,550 per bed per week. A private nursing home only costs €1,000. The cost of a public nursing is €1,900. Has there been any examination of why the average cost of the three types of nursing home is so high in Laois?

The second issue relates to the referral of patients from nursing homes to hospitals. I understand that one of the hospitals in Dublin - if I am not mistaken it is St. Vincent's University Hospital - has a policy of sending a team to a nursing to assess patients before they will accept them into the hospital. I am wondering whether that pilot programme could be considered in other areas. In many cases, the care for patients who are being referred to hospitals could be provided in the nursing home if the proper advice was given to the staff. Is there a plan to look at that?