Results 3,761-3,780 of 11,404 for speaker:Mary Butler

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: Up to 18 November, 452 employers had submitted funding applications to pay their employees the recognition payment. That would include a lot of nursing homes and healthcare workers.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: We know that there are 433 private nursing homes, for example. In total, it is 452 employers so that would include conventional nursing units.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: Yes. To date, 23 nursing homes have received their payments so this is ongoing at the moment.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: From 452 employers.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: They only came in on 18 November so this is ongoing.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: More than likely, yes. That is the plan.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: I thank the Deputy for his question on the nursing home sector, about which we have had many conversations. Some 80% of beds provided in the nursing home sector are operated by private and voluntary organisations. Just under 4% fall into the voluntary category so approximately 76% are private. The fair deal scheme supports 18,000 beds in the private sector. Last year, close to €1...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: I will give the Deputy an example from-----

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: Deputy Burke makes a very valid point. It is working very well in University Hospital Waterford, where we do not have any people on trolleys because we have a service level agreement for up to 45 beds in nursing homes throughout the community as far as Dungarvan and into New Ross. There is no shortage of money to do that. These are what we call "transitional step-down beds". In some...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: The HSE community nursing units will always step in if a resident does not have an appropriate place to go. If a person needs to be discharged from an acute hospital and a private or voluntary nursing home is not in a position to take that person because of his or her complex care needs, the HSE will always step in. Under the fair deal scheme, we currently have 4,500 beds in community...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: If I can come in there, that is a proposed underspend but, as of 2 November this year, there were Covid outbreaks in 72 nursing homes. We continue to pay temporary assistance payments to any nursing home in which there is an outbreak of Covid. As I have said, Covid is not gone completely. As of the start of this month, it was in 72 nursing homes. That budget will also be used in that way....

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: May I also just come in on the issue of personal protective equipment, PPE, because it is important and I did not get to come in on it earlier? Since the outbreak of Covid, some €67.5 million worth of PPE and oxygen has been provided to private nursing homes. I do not have the specific breakdown for 2022 but, up to August this year, the spend on PPE and oxygen was €67 million.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: As we know, the nursing home sector has changed in recent decades from a predominantly State-led service to a situation today where approximately 80% of nursing home services are provided by the private sector and 4% by voluntary organisations. As I said earlier, private nursing homes provide vital residential care to over 18,000 people on behalf of the State. It is interesting to note that...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: The Deputy makes a valid point. It is an area on which we are working hard. I asked the HSE to intervene with any nursing homes that inform HIQA they are going to deregister. This year, 17 nursing homes have issued deregistration numbers. To date, 11 have closed and six are currently open but are at the point of closing. Nursing homes close for a myriad of reasons, however....

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: I am sorry; no. I was trying to be helpful when I said that 452 submissions had been received in the last couple of weeks from the various bodies and that to date, 23 nursing homes have been paid. It is very helpful that we have that information in now and we are going to pay out as quickly as possible. We are all frustrated by the number of people who are still waiting. Approximately...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Homes (29 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: I recognise the important part smaller voluntary and family-run nursing homes play in communities and I am committed to supporting them in these challenging times. Providers of long-term residential care who participate in the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) can, from 11 November, obtain additional funding supports to help meet increased energy costs due to inflation through the Temporary...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Reviews (29 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: The Boarding Out Scheme facilitates older people to remain in their communities where they may otherwise be accommodated in residential care. It can also help to reduce social isolation. While the use of the Boarding Out Scheme by the HSE has traditionally been small I consider there is value in exploring it further. As I have previously advised the Deputy, I have requested that...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (29 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (29 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: I propose to take Questions Nos. 623 to 625, inclusive, together. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented challenge across our health services and none more so than in our nursing homes. The pandemic has been a hugely difficult time for all residents, relatives, and staff of nursing homes and I would like to express my condolences to all those who have lost a loved one during this...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (29 Nov 2022)

Mary Butler: Addressing the shortage of care-workers in Ireland is an urgent priority for the Government. To this end, I established the cross-departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group in March 2022 to examine, and formulate recommendations to address, the challenges in front-line carer roles in the home-support and long-term residential care sectors. Working closely with key stakeholders, the Group...