The operators of private nursing homes have called on the Government to introduce legislation which would set down minimum standards of care in the homes. The Irish Nursing Homes Organisation (INHO) said the current legislation was "totally inadequate and outdated".
It said that " vague terms" in the existing legislation allowed for inconsistent interpretation on the standards of care that should apply. The organisation also maintained that there were also no proper enforcement provisions.
Chief executive of the INHO Tadhg Daly said that not only had care for the elderly been historically underfunded in Ireland but that the current legislation had not been reviewed for 15 years. "The Government promised to introduce up-to-date legislation last year but it has not yet been delivered," he said.
Mr Daly said there was a blatant anomaly between private and public nursing homes.
"The public sector, which accounts for 40 per cent of all long-term beds, is not currently subject to legislative control and is not inspected," he said.
In a position paper published yesterday, the INHO said the current legislation was "unhelpfully vague" in relation to levels of staffing required.
It said that a dependent person needed a minimum of 2.4 hours of care daily. It also maintained that new legislation should allow a regulatory body to vet any person in charge of a home before registration. It also proposed reform of nursing home subvention arrangements. It said the current maximum of €190 per week was totally inadequate.
It said that there was geographical discrimination in the provision of funding.
In some locations enhanced subvention was available but that the threshold varied from area to area. Age Action Ireland said last night that it was vital that a uniform inspection system for public and private nursing homes be introduced as soon as possible.
