Hundreds on waiting list for home support services from HSE in Cork South Lee area

There are 640 people currently awaiting allocation of home support in the South Lee area of Cork, a Sinn Féin TD has said.

The waiting list is made up of both clients who currently are not in receipt of any service, and clients who are awaiting additional hours.

Cork South-Central TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said figures that were sent to him show that 434 people are awaiting a new service, with 206 people awaiting additional service.

“We want to ensure that older people, and anyone else in need of support to stay in their own home, can be cared for in their home,” he said, adding that failings in homecare are instead “pushing older people into hospitals and nursing homes”.

“Delivering proper homecare would reduce the length of hospital stays, reduce the risk of hospitalisation, reduce pressures on our emergency departments and reduce delayed discharges.

Frustrating

“It is deeply frustrating to see 434 people waiting on badly needed support, in really difficult situations and receiving no support whatsoever.

“We also have 206 people receiving a service, but only partial support, far below what they and their family need. It is not right that they are waiting on additional services to meet their needs.”

A HSE spokesperson explained: “Despite a significant level of service provision, the demand for home support nationally and regionally continues to grow.

“The majority of clients who are prescribed home support in this CHO have a service commence almost immediately.

“However, on occasion, part of the prescribed service may not be put in place due to a lack of carer availability in the area.”

They added that in the first half of 2024, a total of 400,744 home support hours were delivered in the South Lee area — 234,575 directly and 136,169 by private providers, with priority given to those being discharged from hospital. The spokesperson said private providers are experiencing similar staffing issues.

Contributed

The ageing population, the recent recruitment pause, and competition with the private and voluntary sectors to access the same skilled workforce have also contributed to the issue.

“Since the covid pandemic, and with Ireland currently at full employment, there also appears to be a shift away from caring roles… towards other employment sectors."

They stressed that they continue to recruit staff, with derogation sought and granted for 49 health care assistants, and there is a panel in place with “approved posts being offered on a continuous basis”.

“None of our waitlisted clients in South Lee or in the wider CHO region are awaiting funding approval or waitlisted due to financial constraints; the only reason for the delay in allocating their service is carer availability.

“In conclusion, improving access to home support is a service priority for the HSE in this region and, to this end, we continue our efforts to recruit as many suitable candidates as possible to fulfil our service requirements.”