Nine-month backlog for home support hours
Dozens of elderly and vulnerable people are waiting up to nine months for the provision of home care support in Cavan and Monaghan.
At the beginning of this week, there were 29 people on the waiting list for home support in Cavan; and 35 clients in Monaghan, according to figures obtained by The Anglo-Celt. Aligned to that there are 102 existing clients waiting on the provision of additional home support hours sanctioned in County Cavan, and 61 in County Monaghan.
In respect of the waiting times, a HSE spokesperson told this newspaper that staff rosters are “continuously reviewed” to ensure services are “operating at optimum capacity”.
“The Home Support Manager has met with private providers in relation to providing staff to target increasing demand and create capacity in geographical areas where staffing is challenging,” they added.
Issues regarding waiting lists for home care support locally were highlighted in a recently published Home and Community Care Ireland report, which said that the biggest increase in the number of older people needing home care, at 30%, was in the CHO Area 1 covering Cavan and Monaghan, as well as Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim.
Similar increases were reported in CHO Area 9 covering counties Longford/Weatmeath, Offaly, Meath and Louth. In all of these areas, the HSE has rationed support hours.
Census figures show the number of over 65s living in Ireland has increased by 41% to 833,000 people since 2013, and this figure is projected to double by 2051.
With 5,556 older people waiting nationally for home care at the end of 2024, the Home and Community Care Ireland report reveals that waiting lists are five times greater outside of Dublin.
In the figures confirmed to the Celt, elsewhere across this region, there are 63 persons on the waiting list for new home support services in Sligo; and 53 existing clients waiting on additional home support hours.
It’s much the same story in Leitrim, with 67 clients on the waiting list for new home support; and 34 existing clients waiting on additional hours.
A total of 18 new HCAs were recruited across Sligo/Leitrim and West Cavan in 2024, where the Home Support Service is also running a “rolling recruitment campaign”.
In Donegal, meanwhile, there are 243 new clients on the waiting list for home support; and 105 existing clients waiting on additional hours.
Regarding CHO1 as a whole, the HSE spokesperson stated: “In Donegal, Sligo/Leitrim and Cavan/Monaghan there is ongoing daily engagement between home support services and acute hospitals prioritising home support packages for older people who have been medically discharged. Other supports such as Day Services and Meals on Wheels are also available.”
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