Trapped in a sterile nursing home after care package is cut
Man in his 30s conf ined to one room in facility for pensioners
A MAN in his 30s, who suffers with spina bifida has been living in a nursing home for the elderly since August and now fears he will be stuck there forever.
Peter Brady is one of an estimated 1,300 people under 65 living in nursing homes, and advocates say a growing number of people with disabilities are among them.
Mr Brady was previously living in an apartment through South Dublin County Council. Even though this wasn’t fully modified, he was happy with carers comSCIENTISTS ing in through a HSE homecare package.
‘I liked it there. It was OK even though the kitchen wasn’t adapted: I couldn’t cook because the hob was too high and there was no space to roll the wheelchair under the sink. But there was a café nearby doing proper meals for €5. I needed help but it was my own place,’ he said.
Unfortunately, last summer Peter became ill and spent three weeks in intensive care. During this time, his homecare package was removed without explanation.
He was told a nursing home was his only option. His parents are elderly and can no longer care for him at home.
The HSE and his local council seem unable to match a homecare package with a wheelchair-friendly apartment for Mr Brady.
He said: ‘I’ve nothing personal against anyone here, but everyone is out of my age-grade. Some of them can’t physically communicate, I feel isolated.’
Mr Brady said: ‘When I came here first, I thought it was OK actually. My room is near the garden, everyone working here is great. But it’s too far for my family or my friends from Clondalkin to come here. I don’t want to be here forever.’
Mr Brady spends time online and watches TV. In his bright, but sparsely furnished, room designed for elderly patients at the end of their life, there is little else to do.
Senator John Dolan, head of the Disability Federation of Ireland said: ‘It’s not unusual that people have personal assistant hours and they go into hospital and the hours disappear. Even if he does need residential assistance and from what I know of him he doesn’t, now he’s in a system for end-of-life care. That’s totally wrong.’
Heather Carter, director of nursing at Elmgreen Nursing Home said the home has offered to adapt one of its stand-alone bungalows at their own cost for Mr Brady. The local HSE office has not responded to this, she said.
Mr Brady said: ‘I could live here if I was on my own, doing my cooking, doing things for myself. I can’t stay in this room.’
Ms Carter said: ‘We’re all working for him. I’m so fond of him, it’s just not right. I think that if he wasn’t fighting this himself, he would be left here. He’s 33 but there’s only one other resident here under 70, the majority are in their 80s.’
A HSE spokeswoman said they cannot comment on individual cases, however she recommended that Mr Brady and his family contact their local HSE office to stress the urgency of his case.
‘Everyone is out of my age grade’