Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this issue which relates to the nursing home support scheme, "a fair deal". The scheme commenced on 27 October 2009 and the HSE is now processing applications.

The scheme was introduced in order to address the fundamental inequity in the treatment of public and private long-term nursing home residents and in order to alleviate the financial hardship being experienced by long-term residents in private nursing homes. Prior to the introduction of the scheme, many people in long-term nursing home care experienced unaffordable care costs over periods of many years. The result was that many people had to sell or remortgage their houses or had to turn to family and friends in order to find the money to meet their care costs.

A fundamental purpose of the new scheme, therefore, was to offer assurance to one of the most vulnerable groups in society - those in need of long-term nursing home care - that such care will be affordable and will remain affordable for as long as they need it. In order to achieve these objectives of equity and affordability, the new scheme involves a fundamental change in the way in which long-term nursing home care is funded and, consequently, the way in which nursing homes and community hospitals are funded. In the past, many of these facilities were allocated a lump sum annually. In contrast, the new scheme supports the individuals in need of long-term residential care, not the facilities providing the care. This means that funding follows the patients, regardless of whether they choose a public, private or voluntary nursing home, and ensures that these facilities are not being funded for empty beds.

In order to qualify for the scheme, all private nursing homes, including Cobh community hospital, must negotiate and agree a price for the cost of care with the National Treatment Purchase Fund. This is a necessary feature of the scheme due to the commitment by the State to meet the full balance of the cost of care over and above a person's contribution. As stated above, the nursing homes support scheme only applies to long-term nursing home care. Nursing homes and community hospitals can continue to have separate agreements with the HSE for the provision of other services, for example, day care, respite and convalescence.

Finally, the Government is committed to developing a financially sustainable funding model to support all long-term care services, both community and residential care services. It is envisaged that this work would also encompass short-term residential care such as respite and convalescence care. This commitment by Government was made in the social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, and preliminary work has commenced within the Department of Health and Children on the analysis of funding models.

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