Deenihan attacks over community care

NORTH Kerry Deputy Jimmy Deenihan this week attacked Health Minister Dr Rory O’Hanlon over the current state of the community care service in Kerry.

Mr Deenihan feels that due to a lack of funds, the travelling expenses of public health nurses in the county has been almost halved which has resulted in a curtailment of the services they can offer — especially to the elderly in the county.

Dr O’Hanlon. however, disagreed and said that in both 1990 and 1991, the Government made an additional £8 million available to the health boards to implement the recommendations of the 1988 report ‘The Years Ahead — Services for the Elderly’.

“I do not accept that the community care service has been severely curtailed in Kerry. The Southern Health Board received just over £1.25 million of Government funds and a substantial proportion of this money has gone to develop the services for the elderly in Kerry,” he said.

“I am satisfied that the community care services in Kerry are being enhanced as a result of this special funding,” he said.

Mr Deenihan said that as a result of the travelling expenses of the public health nurses being cut by up to 50 per cent many of the elderly people in the county were suffering as a result.

“The public health nurses cannot make all the visits they would like to make because their mileage allowance will not allow it. As a result the elderly people are going into hospitals for care and filling up the wards when a public health nurse could provide the same service in the person’s home,” he said.

He added that the elderly people are prolonging their stay in hospital because there is nobody to look after them when discharged.

“It is amazing that the Minister is not aware of the crisis. The public representatives from the Government party should be conveying these problems to him in the Dail.” he added.