THE POSITIVE news is that the majority of elderly Irish people, over 70 years of age, are in good health and living in their own homes. The bad news is that home-conversion grants, designed to encourage them to continue to live independent lives, are being phased out or suspended by local authorities. These cutbacks will increase congestion in hospitals – because patients cannot be allowed to return to an unsafe, home environment – at a time when the need for intensive nursing care facilities is likely to grow.
A tradition of neglect exists in this country where the requirements of elderly people are concerned. And officialdom has been at the heart of it. Pensioners have been illegally charged for nursing home care. The quality of that care has been, to say the least, inadequate. And some of their medical card entitlements have been abrogated.
A survey of persons between 70 and 99 years of age, conducted in the southeast, uncovered some disturbing trends. More than one-third of those questioned had a long-term illness, while one-in-six lived with a moderate or severe disability. In spite of this, some 40 per cent of those who were disabled had not received any form of community service in their homes from the health board. Levels of service provision are low in this country, compared to other EU states.
In recent years, great emphasis has been placed on a need to reduce the number of so-called “bed blockers”, patients who cannot be discharged from hospital and who take up valuable space in overcrowded wards. Up to 20 per cent of hospital beds can sometimes be occupied by patients awaiting discharge. In the past, promises were made to provide them with residential nursing places or care services at home. But there appears to be little joined-up planning. Local authorities are now rejecting applications for conversion grants that would permit such persons to return home safely.
Dublin City Council is the latest to close its grants scheme. The number of applications continued to rise while funding remained at 2008 levels. As life expectancy increases, elderly people should be encouraged to live as independently as possible. Richard Bruton, deputy leader of Fine Gael, has urged that an emergency/priority grants list be introduced to deal specifically with elderly people awaiting discharge from hospital. The proposal makes sense. There may be an additional charge on local government, but health savings would be considerable.