Recruitment challenges blamed for ‘inadequate’ home help
'There was a time when the carer would carry out whatever was needed — lighting a fire, cleaning, cooking, hair washing, helping with makeup, they might give the elderly person a spin in their car or pick up a prescription at the chemist for them.'
The HSE says that, due to ongoing recruitment challenges in home‑help services, staff cannot deviate from their approved list of duties.
The Home Support Service in HSE South West enables people to continue living safely and independently at home, with Home Support Health Care Assistants (HSCAs) providing care to people in their own homes.
Cork advocate for the elderly Paddy O’Brien said he had been contacted by people who felt the services they or a family member was receiving were “totally inadequate”.
He told : “The carers themselves are not to blame, they are carrying out what they are told to do by their line manager, but the current situation is that personal care is all that’s provided.
“There was a time when the carer would carry out whatever was needed — lighting a fire, cleaning, cooking, hair washing, helping with makeup, they might give the elderly person a spin in their car or pick up a prescription at the chemist for them.
"But that’s all changed. Now there’s none of that, not even making a cup of tea.”
A spokesperson for HSE South West told : “A wide range of tasks in line with our service delivery guidelines are carried out by our HSCAs, as determined by the client’s care plan following clinical assessment of their care needs.
“These include assistance with personal care tasks (getting in and out of bed, showering, shaving), cleaning of a client’s personal space where non-performance of such duties impacts on the health, safety and well-being of the individual, reminding clients to take their medication etc.”
They explained that available capacity is distributed to benefit the maximum number of people, so “while we will do our best to facilitate a client’s wishes and personal preferences, we also need to make best use of the staff hours available to us.
“Given the increasing demand for personal care assistance and the recruitment challenges we are dealing with on an ongoing basis, the HSE’s Home Support Service’s goal is to try and reduce our waiting lists so that as many people as possible needing personal care support can access our services.
“Against this background, we do not have the capacity to deliver support outside of the service delivery guidelines outlined above.”
The spokesperson added that other supports and services for older people exist in the region, and a referral for these can be arranged through their local Public Health Nurse.
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