Madam, – I commend Alan Gilsenan on his excellent article about St Monica’s Nursing Home (Opinion, September 28th), highlighting the point that real nursing home care does not relate to the building it is performed in but the spirit of the people within the home.
St Monica’s is not alone in its frustration in trying to provide good quality nursing care in accordance with the national nursing home standards at a nursing home “fair deal” fee that the State wishes to minimise.
As I understand it, the “fair deal”nursing home fee only covers bed and board, basic nursing care and laundry and does not include fundamental matters of care such as incontinence wear, physiotherapy, stimulation and social activities.
It is very clear to me that the State is using the current economic crisis to purchase nursing home care on the cheap and that, unfortunately, it is our older citizens who will bear the brunt of this policy in their twilight years. – Yours, etc,