REPORT reveals a number of Ireland's elderly are unnecessarily being put in nursing homes.
A set of new findings by Irish elderly organisation Age Action has found that an increasing number of older people in Ireland are being unnecessarily forced into nursing homes.
The Economic and Social Research Institute also highlighted a huge increase in demand for home care assistants and estimated that almost 5,000 people across Ireland are on home help waiting lists.
A group representing Age Action will address the inaugural carers conference today which is aimed at both healthcare professionals and unpaid carers in the home.
Today’s meeting will look to improve conditions for both nursing home residents and workers across Ireland and to assess the criteria by which elderly people are being admitted into such homes.
The meeting is being held in light of the recent report revealing that a worrying number of elderly are being admitted to nursing homes when they are healthy enough to remain at home.
Michael Harty of Home Care Direct says today’s meeting is an important event for a number of people for different reasons: “I actually hope the Minister is going to learn a lot by coming along and hearing from the frontline people about issues they are facing on a daily basis and the issues they are having to overcome.”
The inaugural carers conference will examine the serious capacity issues facing the sector and the importance of turning caring into a much more attractive career.
Mr. Harty said: “Capacity is probably the number one issue, homecare as well is a sector unregulated at the moment, unlike its cousin the residential care sector.
“Logic probably would have had it that we should have regulated the home care sector first because with the nursing home, the mere fact that you have people around means there is a level of control.
“However, home care is generally delivered one on one with a vulnerable person.”
