Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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1298. To ask the Minister for Health the steps that were taken on the recommendations of the Department of Health and Children evaluation of home care packages, November 2009; the recommendations that were acted upon; the way in which they were implemented; the steps that were not acted upon; the reason for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27770/17]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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An independent evaluation of Home Care Packages published by the Department in December 2009, indicated that while the Initiative had achieved its basic objectives since its introduction in 2006, various planning and delivery improvements were required overall. These related, for example, to standardising access and process, and various aspects of governance, including management and financial information.

In 2010 the HSE finalised National Guidelines and Procedures for the Standardised Implementation of the Home Care Package Scheme. These Guidelines incorporated the recommendations from the evaluation. A Best Practice Group including representation across the HSE Areas was established and operated for about two years to support the implementation of the Guidelines. The implementation of the Home Care Package Scheme, in accordance with these Guidelines, helps to ensure that each application for the Scheme is processed and assessed in a consistent way. To assist further, a suite of standard documentation was developed and circulated to support the Guidelines.

A new Procurement Framework for Home Care Services came into effect in mid-2012. This framework, which requires service providers to meet defined minimum standards applied to services procured by the HSE from external providers and the process was most recently repeated in 2016. Providers of home care services are monitored through Service Level Agreements with the HSE. They are required to provide a prescribed range of information in relation to the services they provide, and are supervised through regular local operational meetings and reviews of clients' care plans. The purpose of these measures is to promote quality and safety and to ensure a more standardised approach to service provision nationally. Home Care Services are reviewed regularly by the HSE. In addition, the HSE has in place a complaints procedure that is available to all service users.

Quality improvement and monitoring of services are on-going. In 2017 the HSE has provided each Community Health Organisation (CHO) with an additional resource and guidance to support this function. The HSE monitors the resources assigned to and utilised for home care services including Home Care Packages. It also monitors and reviews the care provided to individual clients by HSE professionals such as public health nurses.

The procurement of a national IT system was not progressed as new developments in home care began to emerge in the period 2011 to date. These developments include the negotiation of a new contract for HSE employed home helps, discussions on the potential amalgamation of the Home Help service and the Home Care Package scheme into a single funded service to streamline access for clients, and consideration of the regulation of home care. In this regard, the Department is currently engaged in a detailed process to determine what type of home care scheme is best for Ireland. This process will consider the future design of both the funding and regulation systems for these crucial services.

In light of the considerable on-going work on the future regulation and financing of home care it would be prudent at this time to hold off on decisions on the nature and scope of an IT system. The development and implementation of an IT system across home care remains an important objective, however, and in the interim, work is on-going with the CHO Areas to ensure that data collection is based on standard definitions and timelines.

Finally, the HSE commissioned a consultancy firm to perform an activity and resource review of Home Care Services, including Home Help and Home Care Packages. The review looked at a number of service improvement initiatives and at models of service delivery, both in Ireland and internationally. The review is available at www.hse.ie.