85-year-old Donegal pensioner standalone carer for 81-year-old wife due to domiciliary dearth
An 85-year-old Donegal pensioner with a serious heart problem has been left as the standalone carer for his 81 year-old wife who has dementia due to a lack of domiciliary care in the county.
That’s according to Fine Gael Senator Manus Boyle who has spoken of a ‘deepening crisis in our healthcare for the elderly’.
"I was contacted by the daughter of an elderly couple in Donegal who have been completely failed by the system. Her mother is 81 years old, has dementia and urgently needs care.
"While waiting on treatment, her condition deteriorated dramatically. She suffered repeated falls, loss of mobility and now requires assistance in every aspect of daily living. Despite being approved for home care, the family was told there are simply not enough carers available to provide this woman the care she needs. Instead of receiving care at home her condition worsened to the point she had to be hospitalised in Letterkenny.
"Her 85-year-old husband, who has a serious heart problem and is waiting for a pacemaker and surgery, has effectively been her stand-alone carer. The HSE delivered a hospital bed, a hoist and equipment to the family home, but what use is equipment without trained carers to operate it?” asked Senator Boyle, prior to the Senate rising for the summer recess.
The Fine Gael representative insisted it was not an isolated case.
“It happens to families right across Donegal and Ireland. Patients are being assessed, approved for home care hours and discharged from hospitals only to discover there are no staff available to deliver these hours.
"Families are left carrying an impossible burden. Many patients end up back in the hospital because the care they were promised never materialises. We need urgent investment in our home care services, recruitment and retention of carers and a guarantee that when carers are approved it actually is approved.
“Older people deserve dignity and families deserve support. We cannot continue to approve carers on paper while leaving vulnerable people without the service they deeply need,” said Senator Boyle.
The Donegal representative's party colleague Cathal Byrne, responding on behalf of the government, said: “Senator Boyle spoke about home care for the elderly. He gave an example of an 81-year-old mother who has currently lost mobility and is suffering repeated falls.
"She has been approved for home care but has not been able to secure somebody to do that important work. In the last budget, we saw a record level of investment in home care, but the reality is that the challenges that Senator Boyle spoke about are going to continue because we have an ageing population.
"The Government will have to invest significantly and ramp up the provision of home care hours by ensuring there is a steady supply of trained professionals who are available throughout the country.”
Senator Byrne told the Seanad that he Minister of State Kieran O'Donnell was ‘doing important work in this area’ and said he was ‘confident there will be progress in this area coming up to the budget’.