Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for tabling this matter. Clearly, the shortage of long-stay intensive care beds for people who are ageing is an issue. We need to face up to it and we are examining it is a serious manner.

Cara House, Skibbereen is a residential home for 12 elderly women. It is managed by Skibbereen Geriatric Society. I concur that people are doing their best with the best of intentions. They did a good job at a time the State was not doing it. The society is a company limited by guarantee, which provides residential care and other services for the elderly of Skibbereen and its environs. In December 2012 it applied to HIQA for the registration of Cara House, Market Street, Skibbereen, County Cork, as a designated centre under the Health Act 2007.

Since July 2009 HIQA has been responsible for the registration and inspection of all designated centres for older people. It needs to be satisfied that systems are in place in all designated centres which ensure the safety and welfare of all residents and staff are protected. Cara House, as a designated centre, catering for the long-term residential needs of older people, is subject to registration and inspection under the nursing homes regulatory framework. A registration inspection visit by HIQA raised concerns which included the level of dependency of a number of residents, medication management, staffing and the ability of the home to cater for the residents in its current format. An immediate concern in relation to the administration of medication was addressed in the interim by the association by providing nursing cover to administer medication in the home.

As a result of the concerns raised during the inspection, HIQA prepared a plan of action for the society to address. Following receipt of this plan, the society's representatives met to discuss the situation. The outcome of this meeting resulted in their withdrawing their application for registration. The society advised both HIQA and the HSE that it would close on 28 June. At this stage the overall priority is the residents' wishes and concerns, as the Senator will be aware. One resident has been relocated to a long-stay bed in Bantry, while two residents are in Bantry General Hospital. Discussions are under way with them with a view to identifying an appropriate placement. Nine residents remain at Cara House, eight of whom have been assessed as requiring long-term residential care.

The HSE is working with the residents and their families to find alternative accommodation. Discussions have been held on the options available to them as they work to find alternative accommodation. Each is being supported in completing the application for financial support under the nursing homes support scheme. While all of the residents have identified a preference for a placement in Skibbereen - as the Senator pointed out, this has been their chosen area of residence for a long time - they have been advised that it is extremely unlikely that this number of beds will become available within the timeframe and second preferences have been discussed with them. All residents can be accommodated within the timeframe in at least the facility they have identified as their second preference. They have been further advised that a transfer back to either the community hospital or the private nursing home in Skibbereen could be requested and that they would receive the next available suitable bed. The remaining resident was not deemed to be in need of a continuing care placement and a package of care is being arranged to support her relocation to an apartment in Skibbereen.