James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the value of home help and home care services and the need to support people at home. I do not know anybody who wants to go into long-term care before it is necessary to do so. I am also aware that the way in which hospitals are run means people who have finished their acute phase of care are sometimes left in a hospital bed because they do not have anywhere else to go. We introduced a transitional care programme which will address this issue. People who are older and frail will be admitted to specialist wards, have their medical conditions addressed urgently and start rehabilitation immediately. If it is found that this phase is likely to last for four or five days, the individuals in question will be transferred to another facility in the community where their rehabilitation will continue for up to ten weeks. If, during this period, it becomes obvious that they need long-term care, they will be able to go to a transitional long-term care facility until the place of their choice becomes available. This will alleviate much of the congestion in hospitals caused by delayed discharges.

I have issued an instruction to the Health Service Executive that people must be assessed before their hours change. If hours are to change, the assessment should not be such that it results in a person ending up in an institution, whether a nursing home or hospital, as a consequence of the reduction in home help or home care package hours.

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