Change in policy on housing Ukrainian refugees in nursing homes

Facilities that were registered as nursing homes after August will no longer be considered as potential accommodation for Ukrainian refugees in an attempt to ensure operators do not close the centres to cater for those fleeing the war.

About 900 Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection are being accommodated in former nursing homes or in unused blocks at such facilities around the country, according to the Department of Children.

Nine former nursing homes are being used for this purpose. But a spokesman for the department acknowledged that some properties made available may have been used as nursing homes and the provider may not have informed it of their former status.

Recent communication between the department and individuals offering potential accommodation, seen by The Irish Times, shows a change in policy around the use of nursing homes for this purpose.

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The correspondence states that the department, in agreement with the Department of Health, has updated its accommodation procurement guidelines to exclude nursing homes from being considered, if they were registered with the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) on or after September 1st.

Asked if this change in policy was due to a belief that some nursing homes were closing specifically for this purpose, a spokesman replied: “The department is taking steps to eliminate the potential for this to happen.”

So far this year 11 centres have closed with a loss of 318 beds, said a Hiqa spokesman. He added that two of those centres, totalling 43 beds, were not in use at the time of their closure. A further six centres are in the process of closing with the loss of a further 171 beds, he said.

Homes that have closed in recent months cited rising costs, increased regulatory pressures and insufficient State subsidies for care as the reason behind their decision. Hiqa in April provided a list of nursing homes that had been deregistered since 2019 that could be used to house Ukrainian refugees.

However, in a letter, obtained by The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act, Hiqa’s chief inspector of social services Carol Grogan raised concerns with Siobhán McArdle, assistant secretary of the social care and mental health division of the Department of Health, on the topic.

Ms Grogan said she was concerned these discussions could “potentially create a situation” in which a provider of a nursing home considers “closing the nursing home in order to provide an alternative service”; considered “accommodating refugees on the floor of a nursing home building”; or provided accommodation “that is potentially unsuitable for the number and needs of people being proposed”.

She added: “These concerns are significant and have the potential to have a negative impact on the wellbeing of vulnerable people.”

Hiqa also conducted an inspection of some of the nursing homes being used, according to a briefing paper presented to the July board meeting, with “preliminary findings” suggesting there was no impact on the residents’ quality of life.