Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I know that this is an issue of which the Minister is acutely aware and that over the summer she took the time to visit the facility in Waterford about which I speak. The matter I raise is the need for supportive care homes to be held by HIQA to separate standards from those for a nursing home. Those working in supportive care homes welcome the intervention of HIQA and the opportunity to work alongside that organisation. However, it must be recognised that the model of care is different from that available to people in nursing homes. I have been working on this matter with my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, particularly with reference to the HoIy Ghost supportive care home in Waterford city. It seems there are more of this type of care facility in the south east than elsewhere in the country. The Holy Ghost supportive care home is an interesting facility. It was established under a royal charter granted by King Henry VIII in 1545 to care for the elderly of Waterford. The buildings are a little younger, but the proud tradition of looking after our older people dates back to those days.

The Holy Ghost supportive care home depends on the HSE for a small amount of section 39 funding and is also supported through fundraising by the people of Waterford city. Any increase in funding would be very welcome, but the main issue is the model of supportive care homes which is very different from that for a nursing home. The aim of the care provided is to reflect a philosophy which encourages independence in a home-like setting. The staff work to meet the individual needs and preferences of the residents and the facility provides the residents with care assistants, as opposed to nurses, and a range of recreational care services in a homely, yet professional manner, with a plethora of activities, from art to bingo to knitting and crafts, yoga, singalongs, music and supervised trips. The level of independence of a resident in a supportive care home is very different from that of someone in a continuum of care who may need to progress to a nursing home.

These facilities are being held up by HIQA to the same, otherwise very welcome and necessary, standards as in a nursing home, but the group is keen to stress that the services it provides are very different. The supportive care home facility encourages independence in persons who are not ready to move into a nursing home. These great facilities have the capacity to decrease costs to the health sector owing to the fact that there is no need for nursing staff to be available, relying as they do on care assistants and a skills mix to look after the people who reside in them.

As I know the Minister of State is acutely aware, many people enter a nursing home too early, at a stage when they could be at home or in a facility such as the Holy Ghost residential home. The supportive care home model is considerably less expensive and more suited to those who need some help but do not need the intensive care provided in a nursing home.

I ask the Minister of State to look at the supportive care homes and address the issues raised, if she can. Let us have them assessed using the correct criteria, standardising the model of care. While this issue may be specific to the south east, the rest of the country may be able to benefit.

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