Support needed for older people long after Covid, says Cork director of Nursing Home Ireland

THE CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland is calling for more therapies to be made available to older people in care facilities amid increased concern for those still recovering from Covid-19.

CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland, Tadhg Daly, who hails from Cork, was speaking out after comments from a representative of advocacy group Care Champions about the lack of rehabilitation resources for older people still recovering from the effects of Covid-19.

Founder of the national advocacy group Care Champions, Majella Beatty had previously said that older people suffering from long-term effects of Covid-19 were restricted in access to rehabilitation. These include services such as physiotherapy and speech therapy.

However, Mr Daly said that older people are commonly discriminated against when it comes to accessing therapies.

"We would argue that residents are very often discriminated against when accessing some of these services. The director of nursing is constantly advocating just to make sure these are put in place. It's a challenge post-Covid just as much as it has been for people in the community."

He warned that older people need to be supported to thrive in a post-Covid world.

"The pandemic has weighed heavily on older people in general but particularly nursing homes residents. Accessing therapies is sometimes challenging for residents including physiotherapy and language. Those services aren't as plentiful as one would hope and expect."

He said that while older people's health issues are being addressed there needs to be an additional focus on rehabilitation.

"It comes down to the individualised care plan. They are in a setting where they have good clinical care and that's a positive if someone's condition is deteriorating because the issue can be addressed quickly. Reablement is a huge part of nursing home care. It will definitely be a feature of the post-Covid world for the next while. The expert panel report had a specific recommendation around access to services and therapies for example. 

"That needs to be embedded and delivered. There is going to be a requirement for additional resourcing in terms of speech and language and physiotherapy. People need to be supported whether they are living in a nursing home, acute hospital or independent living setting."