State is ready to fund homecare for the elderly... and we will do it inside two years

Junior Minister Helen McEntee pledges quick action on Fair Deal at home... but Exit signs on doors will NOT be necessary

HOMECARE for the elderly and disabled, paid for by the State, could be available within two years, according to Junior Health Minister Helen McEntee.

Ms McEntee has told the Irish Mail on Sunday that health watchdog Hiqa could be involved – but that she didn’t expect it to be inspecting people’s homes.

At the moment, the only State financial support for care comes from the Fair Deal Scheme, which is purely for nursing home care. This forces many families, who would rather care for an ill relation at home, to turn to a nursing home instead.

This anomaly was highlighted by fashion designer and TV personality Brendan Courtney when he made a documentary about the problems his family had after his father’s stroke. The minister is also responsible for mental illness, and she said a recruitment campaign is under way for staff so they can provide seven-day access to emergency care nationwide. She told the MoS: ‘There is over €350m being spent on homecare currently, we are doing a mapping exercise to see where the gaps are, and a public consultation at the end of May. Fair Deal provides solace, but it should be a last resort. The consultation will be no longer than six to eight weeks, realistically.

‘I would like to see it all done and dusted within two years, I would like to see it sooner but the Nursing Home Support Scheme took seven years. You’re not talking anywhere near that, but you want to get it right.’

At present, Hiqa monitors nursing homes but does not inspect homecare services. Ms McEntee said Hiqa might be involved, adding: ‘It would be a different type of regulation. A nursing home is different to someone’s home. That is something we are going to get feedback on. In some countries we have looked at, regulation was of the organisations providing the care, and obviously you have a national body doing spotchecks. It’s not as strict as you must have an Exit sign over the door.’

Referring to Courtney’s documentary, she said: ‘It highlighted the work we need to do. I’ve spoken to Brendan several times and we’re keeping him up to date. It’s not an easy thing going on television like that, it’s a tough thing to do.’

Courtney complained about the complexity of applying for the Fair Deal Scheme. His father, Frank, was incapacitated by a stroke in 2015. The family looked at nursing homes but found them unsuitable.

They wanted to care for him at home instead, but discovered that there would be no State subsidy. Courtney calculated that the cost of sending his father to a care home would be roughly the same as the cost of keeping him at home.

Unlike some of her Government colleagues, Ms McEntee appears unconcerned about the instability in the Government. She said: ‘We have an agreement and that is for three years. May 6 is year one, and I am working on the basis that we have another two years to work on this. I think you’d be constantly doing nothing if you were thinking something is going to fall apart all of a sudden.’ She praised Enda Kenny’s leadership, saying: ‘I believe he’s been a fantastic leader, and he himself said he will finish as leader when the time is right, and I trust him to make that judgment.’

Asked who she would like to see as leader when Mr Kenny quits, she

‘It’s not easy going on TV. It’s a tough thing to do’

said: ‘I’ve thought about it, but I’m not going to say anything just at the moment. We don’t have a contest at the moment.’ And she had no desire to leave Health, saying: ‘I’m happy with the ministry I’m in, it’s something that I’ve gotten behind and after that it’s getting re-elected and who knows after that?’

As minister responsible for mental illnesses, Ms McEntee has some personal experience, as her father Shane, also a minister, died by suicide in December 2012.

She said: ‘I was open and honest with the Taoiseach and said there should be a minister for mental health, not necessarily that it should be me. I was clear there should be for many reasons, Dad being one of them, and seeing the pressures that are on young people.’

One of the biggest challenges facing the mental health sector is the limited hours available to those seeking help. She said: ‘Whatever about 24/7 we don’t even have seven-day services in many parts of the country. We’ve identified what staffing would be needed for seven-day, and we’re engaging with unions on this. We have the funding, and I would hope we will be able to start hiring this year to roll out a seven-day service.’

Last year, recruitment was so slow the department threatened to remove funding and use it elsewhere in the health services.

Asked whether this could happen again with the ring-fenced funding of €15m, Ms McEntee said: ‘My plan is to start this year and then we would have a full-year’s cost for next year. No, it would not be taken away, the money that has been allocated will be spent this year. If there are difficulties and I don’t think there will be, then the money will be spent elsewhere in mental health, absolutely solely for mental health.’

Speaking on the day Peter Boylan resigned from the board of Holles Street in protest at the Sisters of Charity’s involvement in the proposed National Maternity Hospital, she said: ‘For me the most important thing, as a woman who might be using the service, is that the services provided, the management of the hospital and how services are delivered are completely independent to any religious ethical views. For me that is the most important thing.

‘This is the assurance Minister Harris has given us.’

‘I gave many reasons, Dad being one of them’