THE cost of home help services provided by private care companies has almost doubled since last year to more than €39 million at a time when the HSE is cutting the working hours of directly employed home-helps.
Money being spent with private for-profit companies – who are paid more is some cases per hour than directly employed home helps – has risen from €20.9 million in 2011 to €39.6 million in 2012, a jump described by Limerick IMPACT trade union representative, Paul Gavan, as “a disgrace”.
The amount spent on private care in Limerick last year was €1,218,240 – a figure which would provide around 65,000 extra hours for directly employed local home helps. 90,000 hours were cut from the HSE West allocation of home help hours in 2012.
via 39 million spend on home help | Limerick Post Newswrite.
