Over 300 families waiting on home help provision in region

The Government is being accused of turning its back on families in need.

Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan and Monaghan, Niamh Smyth, says she is "saddened and horrified" to hear that over 6,285 families nationally and over 300 in this region are waiting on home help to be provided to them and their families.

“I have been informed that 240 families who have applied for home help support in Cavan and Monaghan are still waiting for hours to be provided. The number in Meath is 63! I have had a number of elderly constituents in their 90s in contact with me who wish to remain living in their homes independently for as long as they can; some were approved for home help as far back as May of this year for 45 minutes of home help every day. As of today, they have still not received this assistance for the HSE. What is the world coming to when we cannot support our elderly to live independently at home which may I add is saving the state millions of euro?”

 

“The stories I am hearing are heart-breaking. One family are contemplating a nursing home option now to provide care for their loved one because they’ve been bridging the gap of care for months now and can no longer continue to do so with work commitments etc. It’s a desperate position to be put in. On one hand you are being told, yes you need home help assistance and on the other you’re being told, sorry but we have no one to help you at the moment. 

Deputy Smyth said that the HSE has said that home help will be provided to these families as funds become available.

"These people have worked hard all their lives, paid their taxes and now when they need some support, it simply isn’t there,” she said.
“Another spouse of a man who needed home help was a carer for 25 years herself and no longer can help her husband. They too have had to wait in excess of six months for care to be provided. It’s causing severe stress and anxiety for families.”
Deputy Smyth is appealing to the Minister for Health Simon Harris to give this his utmost priority.

"As they wait, many of these applicants conditions are worsening – I have seen in some families where this may require another review (to increase home help if needed) by the public health nurse, which delays matters further. All the while they are getting assistance on paper but nothing else. It’s simply unfair,” she concluded.