Madam, – It is with shock and sadness that I read about the care environment that was offered to residents of Creevelea House Nursing Home in Laytown (as reported in Drogheda District Court, Home News, June 21st). The vast majority of nursing home operators are doing a fantastic job caring for elderly vulnerable people with limited resources.
Under the Fair Deal scheme, nursing home fees are set by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) for each nursing home individually. It should be noted that the fee currently being paid to Creevelea House Nursing Home for a single room is €975 per week while the average fee being paid nationally is approximately €850 per week. If the NTPF is really interested in ensuring a quality service for older people and value for money for the taxpayer then surely the manner in which fees are agreed should be changed to ensure that fees reflect the standard of care being offered rather than being based wholly on fees charged prior to the Fair Deal scheme being introduced. – Yours, etc,