SEVERAL NEW complaints were made to the Health Service Executive (HSE) yesterday about the quality of homecare services provided across the State as Taoiseach Brian Cowen accepted in the Dáil the Government would have to look at regulating the sector.
A total of 102 calls were received by the HSE’s information line about homecare services by tea-time and 11 resulted in complaints from clients and their families. The HSE said these were now being investigated and alternative arrangements would be put in place for clients if necessary.
The calls followed the screening of a Prime Time Investigatesprogramme on Monday night which, with the aid of undercover cameras, showed private homecare companies hiring untrained and unvetted home helps and homecare assistants. Carers threatening older people, force-feeding them and stealing were shown.
Minister of State with responsibility for Older People Áine Brady said regulation and inspection was being considered but could give no timeframe. Mr Cowen said statutory regulation would have to be looked at as quickly as possible.
Age Action called on the Government to urgently regulate the homecare sector. Its spokesman Eamon Timmins said we need to know why the Government is continuing to ignore its responsibilities when it comes to protecting vulnerable, older people, by failing to regulate the sector.
“All home helps – regardless of whether they are employed directly by the HSE, whether they work for a firm contracted by the HSE or employed by a private home help firm – must have staff who are Garda-vetted, properly trained, supervised and independently inspected,” he said. He said the documentary put a human face on the problem that everyone working with older people has been aware of for many years.
Dr Corina Naughton, a researcher at the UCD-based National Centre for the Protection of Older People, said the lack of regulation was a really big problem. If there were problems in a nursing home another member of staff might blow the whistle, but in the domestic setting there was less of an opportunity to identify mistreatment without an inspection regime, she said.
Prof Des O’Neill, the consultant geriatrician who investigated deaths at Leas Cross nursing home, said clear standards needed to be set, regulations with inspection need to be put in place and there needs to be much more emphasis on training care staff and a much clearer linkage with and oversight of the system by public health nurses.
The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament also said there was an urgent need for statutory regulation and licensing: “The old and vulnerable must be protected and it’s time to stop the scandal and start bringing Ireland into the 21st century.”
Ed Murphy, president of the Irish Private Home Care Association, which represents about 50 private homecare companies, said the association had been calling for statutory regulation for years. It was important to remember, he said, 90 per cent of elder abuse occurs within the community, so it is vital we have adequate protection for older people cared for at home. “Hiqa regulation can accomplish this,” he said.
The Department of Health said the question of possible changes to legislation, including regulation and inspection, for homecare generally is under consideration. “The department is, at present, examining the regulation of this sector in the overall context of the licensing of healthcare providers. Legislation is currently being prepared in this regard, taking into account the recommendations of the Commission on Patient Safety and the Law Reform Commission,” it said.
If a member of the public wants to report a concern with a homecare service, they should contact the HSE’s information line on 1850-24 1850.