Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I assume the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, is taking this as, unfortunately, the Minister for Health is not here. I wish to raise the horrific situation in which so many patients and families in community healthcare organisation, CHO 7, an area that includes my county of Kildare and parts of west Wicklow, and CHO 8, which includes Laois, find themselves. Figures recently supplied to me show that some 6,458 older people are waiting for home care packages. According to the latest response I received to a parliamentary question, there are 724 people waiting on them in CHO 7 but when I rang the services, I was told that the same number of people were waiting for them last year so this is an ongoing issue. It is shocking. These figures are unacceptable.

There are many challenges in the health system, not all of which are about funding but come down to management and mismanagement. However, this is clearly an issue of funding. One family I have been helping applied for funding for the mother, who is 90 years of age, and was told funding would be provided after two weeks. The family was just about able to bear the financial brunt for two weeks but after those two weeks, it was told that no funding was available. Another family I know has been waiting for a home care package to bring their mother from Naas Hospital. In the meantime, she is taking up a bed that is needed for other people. I spoke to a nurse in the area today who told me about an 85 year old woman who broke her ankle three weeks ago and was allowed out of hospital last week. No care package could be provided. The woman was unable to shower, lives on her own and has been waiting two and a half weeks. It is a disgrace. We need to do far better. I will have more to say in my supplementary.

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