HSE nursing homes getting paid 72% more than private homes
GROSS DISPARITY IN FAIR DEAL SCHEME PAY HIGHLIGHTED BY UNION
A new analysis shows HSE nursing homes in Co Wexford are being paid 72 per cent more per resident, per week, than private and voluntary counterparts in the county under the Fair Deal Scheme.
New Houghton Hospital gets paid €1,511 per patient and St John’s Hospital in Enniscorthy and St John’s Ward in Ely Hospital, Wexford, get paid €1,642 per patient under the State run scheme.
The pay discrepancy was raised by Nursing Homes Ireland CEO Tadhg Daly who said fees payable highlight how Fair Deal funding for nursing home care is fundamentally flawed, with no recourse for private and voluntary nursing home providers to independently appeal the fee they are set under the scheme.
This arises as HSE nursing homes pay their homes fees that are multiple those payable to private and voluntary counterparts, with no negotiation entailed.
Private and voluntary nursing home owners across Co Wexford are seeking fair fees to provide the specialised care services they offer.
Mr Daly said: ‘We are dismayed that fees under the scheme are not commensurate with the reality of costs or those given to HSE homes. As it stands, Fair Deal is leading to the closure of private and voluntary nursing homes and placing unsustainable cost pressures upon nursing home providers. We are insisting that the next Government introduces a commitment to the introduction of an independent appeal process for nursing home providers under the Nursing Home Support Scheme (Fair Deal).’
He said this is a very legitimate and fair ask for private and voluntary providers within a scheme that is inherently unfair between public and private sector fees.
‘The State is effectively applying mass discrimination against older people supported by Fair Deal in private and voluntary nursing homes. The HSE is paying its nursing homes fees that are multiples of those payable to private and voluntary counterparts. Private and voluntary nursing homes have had to close their doors due to fees payable under Fair Deal not being sustainable and are operating under unnecessarily severe financial pressure.’
Mr Daly said the ‘reprehensible discrimination’ by the State in the nursing home sector is compounded by its failure to publish a review of the Fair Deal pricing mechanism, which was scheduled for completion almost three years ago in June 2017. ‘One has to conclude that this is a cover up by the State,’ he added.
The new analysis follows the figures being published by the HSE on the night of February 27 when the coronavirus story was first breaking.
‘The figures laid bare the gross disparity in fees payable between HSE and private/voluntary nursing homes under the scheme. The analysis undertaken by Nursing Homes Ireland shows that the 15 private and voluntary nursing homes operating in County Wexford receive an average Fair Deal fee of €917 per resident per week. In contrast, the two HSE nursing homes in the county receive an average fee of €1,577 per resident per week. The HSE homes are receiving on average 72 per cent more than private and voluntary. The disparity within the county is long standing. When the fees were published for January 2019, the differential was 73 per cent, with the average for the two HSE nursing homes being €1,530 and €883 for the 14 private and voluntary.’