Written answers

Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Department of Health

Nursing Home Inspections

Photo of Ciara ConwayCiara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
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395. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the situation regarding public nursing homes that are at risk of failing to meet Health Information and Quality Authority national accommodation standards; if the Health Service Executive is working with the 27 homes identified as potentially being unable to meet its standards; if funding is being put aside to ensure the standards are being met and if so, the amount, the plans in place to cater to clients, should any or all of these homes be closed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3767/15]

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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416. To ask the Minister for Health his views on reports that up to 21 of the largest publicly run nursing homes are at risk of closure due to the State's failure to invest in bringing them up to national accommodation standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3942/15]

Photo of Kathleen LynchKathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 395 and 416 together.

There are currently 119 public residential units providing a mixture of long-stay and short-stay residential care. All of these are registered with HIQA. Notwithstanding the problems that some facilities face with structures and facilities, the vast majority of their residents receive excellent levels of care. Without these public facilities many older people would simply have nowhere to go, other than our acute hospitals which are already under pressure. It is therefore very important that the services provided by public facilities be maintained.

Demand for capital investment for the Community Nursing Unit programme far exceeds the funding available, and investment must therefore be allocated as effectively as possible based on the HSE's assessment of priorities.

HIQA has indicated that a number of units do not fully meet the standards one would expect to find in a modern nursing home. This is not surprising given the age and structure of many of our public nursing homes. However, there is adequate flexibility available within the terms of existing legislative provisions, and through ongoing discussions between the HSE and HIQA, for solutions to be found. In this context the HSE has been working with HIQA over the past number of months to meet the re-registration requirements of these units, and my Department is closely monitoring the situation.

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