Drop in approval rate of Fair Deal applications

THE FAIR Deal nursing home scheme ran a €4.4 million surplus up to the end of June this year, according to figures from the Health Service Executive.

The scheme, which subsidises long-term nursing care for older people, was temporarily suspended last year because it ran out of money. However, according to the HSE’s latest performance report for June, it had a “minor surplus” at the end of June this year.

The budget for the scheme for the first six months of the year was just over €381 million, but just €377 million was spent.

There has been a drop in the approval rate of applications. Almost 8,000 applications were approved last year, 75 per cent of the just over 10,600 applications processed. This compares with a 100 per cent grant rate in 2010 and 2009, when 11,862 and 11,627 were granted respectively.

June’s performance report said almost 5,200 applications were received and 4,200 new clients were accepted on to the scheme. All of the applications were processed within four weeks of being received in full.

Applicants undergo a care-needs assessment to establish whether they qualify for long-term nursing home care.

The report said at the end of June almost 23,000 long-term public and private residential places were being paid for under the scheme, with 4,600 in public beds and more than 13,500 in private beds.

“The scheme is taking on new clients within the limits of the resources available, in accordance with legislation.”

Meanwhile, the HSE has said all 128 public nursing homes have been registered with the Health Information and Quality Authority with the exception of two.

The deadline for registering the homes was the end of June this year.

The HSE said St Mary’s in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, and Aras Mhuire Community Nursing Unit in Galway were “still in the registration process”.