Three private nursing homes each received more than €1 million under a Government scheme providing funds to cope with Covid-19 and the management of outbreaks, new Health Service Executive (HSE) figures show.
In total, the HSE paid €135.8 million to 455 private nursing homes under the State’s temporary assistance payment scheme (Taps) from its introduction in April 2020 until the start of last month.
The scheme was introduced by the then minister for health, Simon Harris, to support private and voluntary nursing homes coping with additional costs due to the pandemic.
Nursing homes used the funds to cover the cost of paying agency staff to cover employees who were out sick with Covid or isolating, infection prevention and control measures to protect against the spread of Covid-19 and the higher cost of responding to outbreaks.
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Standard funding provided under the scheme ended at the end of June 2021 but was extended until the end of this month specifically to assist in the management of outbreaks.
Inspection report
Bridhaven Nursing Home in Mallow, Co Cork, which received €1.073 million, accounted for the largest amount paid out. The home, which has 120 residents, was hit by a significant Covid-19 outbreak in September 2021 with 41 residents and 17 staff members testing positive for the virus, according to an inspection report published by the State’s health service regulator, Hiqa.
Orwell House Nursing Home in Rathgar, Dublin, received €1.067 million under the scheme. The 145-resident south Dublin care facility experienced a Covid-19 outbreak in January.
Lisheen Nursing Home in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, received €1.056 million. During the first wave of the pandemic, the care facility, home to 114 residents at the time, was hit by an outbreak that resulted in 25 residents and 21 staff testing positive for Covid-19.
The figures on the payments made were released by the HSE to People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy in response to a parliamentary question.
The list includes nursing homes that experienced significant Covid-19 outbreaks during the early stages of the pandemic, including TLC Citywest in Dublin, which received €736,000; Tara Winthrop in Swords, Co Dublin (€682,000); Dealgan House in Dundalk, Co Louth (€623,000); and CareChoice Ballynoe in Co Cork (€424,000).
Care Champions, the voluntary group campaigning for a public inquiry into nursing homes on behalf of families who lost relatives in care facilities, said that it was “outraged” at the scale of the funding provided given the experiences of the families. “The lived experience reported to us by many of our families was not one of increased investment – in fact the opposite,” said spokeswoman Eimear Fitzgerald.
Cost escalation
The group has called for “full accountability” for how the public money was spent.
The private nursing home sector defended the payments, saying the scheme was introduced “as a contribution towards the unprecedented escalation in care costs” during Covid-19.
Tadhg Daly, chief executive of Nursing Homes Ireland, the representative for private nursing home owners, said more than 500 nursing homes “incurred huge increases in expenditure” to implement intensified public health measures and support resident care during the pandemic.
“Strict and defined criteria” were applied to provide transparency and accountability and all funds were subject to “a rigorous application process, including the provision of receipts”, he said.
“It was administered by the National Treatment Purchase Fund and overseen by independent auditors that were appointed by the Department of Health,” he said.
Mr Daly said he hoped the Government would extend the payments to nursing homes after its scheduled end-date on Thursday given the increasing number of outbreaks in nursing homes and the rising number of cases in the community.
Private nursing homes that got highest State payouts under Covid-19 scheme: Top 10
Bridhaven Nursing Home in Cork – €1.073 million
Orwell House Nursing Home in Dublin – €1.067 million
Lisheen Nursing Home in Dublin – €1.056 million
Nazareth House Nursing Home in Dublin – €957,500
Beneavin House Nursing Home in Dublin – €927,900
CareChoice Malahide Road in Dublin – €914,200
Park House Nursing Home in Kildare – €887,800
Belmont House Nursing Home in Dublin – €864,500
St Luke’s Nursing Home in Cork – €813,000
CareChoice Trim Nursing Home in Meath – €807,700
