NURSING homes run by the HSE in Limerick are costing an average of €827 more per person per week than private and voluntary nursing homes.
New figures show that under the Fair Deal scheme there is a 76 per cent gap in Limerick between the two sectors in terms of funding. Representatives in the sector say that private and voluntary homes are being discriminated against to the point of forced closure.
According to data collated by the Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) group, the average weekly fee payable per resident in HSE-run homes in Limerick was €1,829, up 7.3 per cent on fees for 2022.
The comparable fee per week for a resident in a private or voluntary home was €1,002, up 3.8 per cent on 2022.
The gap between the Limerick HSE fees and the private sector now stands at a differential of 76 per cent.
Responding to the differential, NHI chief executive Tadhg Daly said that “while the funding crisis has led to the closure of over 20 nursing homes in the past year, the already considerable gulf in payments to HSE nursing homes has increased”.
“Fees payable to HSE nursing homes signify the reality of nursing home care costs. There are multiple analyses of Fair Deal finding the fee setting process, which is not applicable to State nursing homes, is not commensurate with the reality of nursing home resident care costs.
“HSE nursing homes are provided with fees that are commensurate with resident care costs.
“The chasm in how the State funds its own nursing homes represents discrimination against nursing home residents and those entrusted in meeting their health and social care needs. It is discriminatory use of public funding and private and voluntary nursing homes are forced to close while HSE nursing homes receive multiples in funding.”
Mr Daly added that “the discrimination being operated under Fair Deal has a direct effect upon the ability of nursing homes to appropriately remunerate and retain staff who are vital to meeting our older population’s health and social care needs”.
“The prejudicial process discriminates against staff in private and voluntary nursing homes. A Fair Deal that is fair to all providers should be underpinned by the principle of equal pay for equal work.”
NHI has called on Government to expedite its commitment to implement measures to bring stability to the sector, which was recently reiterated within its Sláintecare progress report.
But the development of a policy paper on the future direction of the sector has been put on hold, according to the NHI.
“A cost of care crisis continues to present for nursing home care in Ireland … It is irresponsible and bitterly disappointing that the Government has now stalled on implementation of a policy paper to provide the sector with much needed direction,” Mr Daly said.
“Communities are losing nursing home care services and this will have very detrimental implications and leave health and social care without vital services.”
In response to a query from the Limerick Post, an HSE spokesman said that “decisions on reimbursement to private nursing homes are not a matter for the HSE”.
“There are variations in the cost of care in public nursing homes and private nursing homes, with public nursing homes generally having a higher cost of care.
“A higher cost of care is due to reductions in the number of long-stay public beds in public nursing homes/Community Nursing Units to comply with HIQA residential care standards. At the same time, the nursing homes fixed costs such as lighting, heating, and maintenance costs remain.
“Public nursing homes generally have reported higher ratios of nursing and other staff in place than private nursing homes and rates of pay and leave entitlements in the public sector are higher than in the private sector.
“These costs apply to the operating costs of providing care in public nursing homes. The amount a nursing home resident pays towards the cost of their nursing home care under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Fair Deal) is calculated based on the value of their assets and income when they apply for nursing home care.”
