Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am raising the issue of gaps in home care provision because it is having a detrimental effect on the everyday lives of people, whether elderly or disabled. I am contacted regularly by family members of older people and disabled people who have been approved hours that are not being filled. This is where a home care package has been put in place, the person has been assessed and the hours required are approved, but they are not being filled. This happens regularly. For example, I was talking last week to a young man, Finn, who is almost 23 years of age. He has a condition called Duchenne muscular dystrophy and his mother, a single parent, is his sole carer. He has been approved for a package for seven days a week, twice a day, where two carers are to come in to get him up in the morning and change him for the day, and then are to return to put him back to bed at night. Invariably, carers do not turn up or only one will turn up when two are required, given it requires two people to turn him. This means the mother has to ask a neighbour or friend to come in and while those neighbours and friends do not mind, they may not always be available, and she should not have to rely on that sort of help on an ongoing basis.

The mother states that some of the carers are directly employed by the HSE. They come in during the week and they are generally reliable, they are trained, they know what they are doing and they stay the length of time they are supposed to. However, the HSE also relies on an agency to provide care for an amount of the time. She says that it is no exaggeration to say that 20 different people have been through her door, and they are not trained or even informed of Finn’s care needs. One carer came in and tried to move him from the back of the neck, not knowing that he has a rod in his spine. He was hurt and spent two weeks in considerable pain. The mother said this agency is not reputable, although she did not say that about all agencies. The HSE needs to review the agencies it is employing to provide the care. Preferably, I would like to see the HSE directly employing carers so this situation does not arise.

A 34-year-old lady, Lindsay, has locked-in syndrome and can only move her eyes following a stroke. She has an intensive care package of three visits a day from carers, seven days a week, with three carers at a time being required. Her parents are her carers. Again, invariably, only one or two of the carers turn up and it is not sufficient, so she is not getting the care she needs.

When I write to the HSE about this and other cases, I am given an outline of the care package approved but am told that the carers are not available. That is not good enough. People with the most need have to be prioritised so they get the care they require. We cannot have people left for a whole weekend. Finn’s mother was telephoned last Friday at 4 p.m. to be told there were no carers for the weekend. When she tried to call back, she could not get through to anyone. Sometimes the lines are only open for two hours a day and it might be that nobody answers or returns calls.

People are being left high and dry. It is a huge issue that is preventing people from going into nursing home or residential care. To be kept in their own home is their preference but it also saves the State money. While the care packages can be expensive, they would not be as expensive as if this person had to receive round-the-clock care in a nursing home. They should be facilitated to stay in their homes and given the proper care by trained professionals, who show empathy and understanding and act in a professional manner. That is not happening on an ongoing basis and families are at their wits' end.

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