Frank O’Rourke TD has pressed the Government for additional resources to be provided for Home Care Packages for the Kildare region, a region falling behind other areas in terms of the number of packages needed.
Frank commented, “Winter can be a very difficult time for older people and their families. It’s also a period when hospitals are under pressure. As I established earlier in 2018, the Kildare Wicklow region has a significantly higher waiting list for Home care packages than other area. In June, we had 724 people on the waiting list, which proportionally was much higher than other areas.”
“It makes little sense to delay giving home care supports to people that need them and have been approved by the HSE to get them. It goes against the Government’s stated aim of ensuring people can continue living in their home if they so choose to do so. It is also leading to unnecessary overcrowding in our hospitals. There are many older people in hospitals that are ready to be discharged but are unable to return home as the necessary home care supports have not been put in place.”
“Minister Harris and his Government colleagues need to ensure that the Home Care Support Scheme is properly resourced. We all know that there are limited resources, but the current situation is only leading to increases costs in the long run due to overcrowding in hospitals and a scarcity of beds in nursing homes.”
“I continue to fight for additional resources for older people. I was delighted to introduce our Bill last month, in the Dail, which will reduce the time for processing the Housing Adaptation Grants. We must press for additional resources for Home Care Packages.” Concluded Deputy O’Rourke