by Kathy Masterson
HOME help workers held a ‘Right to Work’ protest outside University Hospital Limerick (UHL) on Friday, January 16 to highlight the role they can play in solving the overcrowding crisis in our hospitals.
Margaret Mulvihill, a home help worker from Dooradoyle and SIPTU activist, said: “People are stuck on trolleys and we know we can help. There are many people in hospital beds who with the correct support can return home and be cared for by the home help service.
“However, cutbacks in our service mean that for increasing numbers this is not a viable option. We want to get the message to the public that home helps are here in the local community and we are ready, willing and able to work.”
According to SIPTU, there has been a 23 per cent cut to HSE home help hours since 2008, and a 14 per cent cut to employee numbers for Limerick home helps since 2009.
The trade union also poined out that “underemployment is now a common feature for many HSE home helps working throughout the city and county”.
A SIPTU survey has revealed that nearly seven out of ten home help workers currently have less than 20 hours work per week.
The same survey also indicates that four out of five such workers are seeking additional hours of work.
“This means in many cases a home help service could be provided for hospital patients enabling many of them to return to live in their own homes under a tailored care plan,” the union stated.
SIPTU organiser, Margaret Young, said: “There are currently 800 patients waiting to be discharged from hospitals across the State. The crisis in our hospitals is integrally linked to the running down of health services within our communities.”
