‘Improper’ care charges lead to €105,000 refund

MORE than €105,000 has been refunded after six residential services users with intellectual disabilities were wrongly charged for the provision of incontinence wear.

Details of the refund were included in a briefing by the HSE for the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

In a covering letter, HSE assistant national director Ray Mitchell said it relates to “alleged improper or illegal charging of residents for incontinence wear at the Brothers of Charity Services in Roscommon”.

The briefing says that health authorities told the Brothers of Charity in 1997 that service users would not receive funding for these products. On that basis, six service users were charged for incontinence wear between 2002 and 2013. It says the practice of charging for incontinence wear was stopped in 2013 following the investigation of a complaint made by the family of one of the individuals involved.

According to the briefing, a total of €105,335 was provided on a once-off basis to the Brothers of Charity to refund clients for the “inappropriate charges” and that all six users have received a “full refund”.

Fianna Fáil TD Marc MacSharry claimed the HSE was “dragged kicking and screaming to reimburse some money” and wants the HSE and Brothers of Charity to answer questions before the PAC. He also alleged that some families have not been reimbursed for the period 1997 to 2001. The HSE said it is not aware of outstanding claims from that period.