HSE Cuts Hitting Elderly and Vulnerable – Crowe

Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe has said the HSE cuts by the  Government are targeting homehelp, homecare packages and personal assistance and that the cuts to  agency staff and overtime will also create further difficulties in many of our public health care facilities and hospitals.

Deputy  Seán Crowe said:

“The cuts announced by the Health Service Executive are targeting the most vulnerable with major reductions in home help hours, homecare packages and personal assistance.

“The reduction of 200 homecare packages per month combined with  a 5.5% reduction in home help hours will mean the option of Independent living will  not be a reality. The cut of €10 million  in Personal Assistant hours for people living with a disability is cruel cut and will  create huge difficulties for many vulnerable people.

“The cuts  represent an attack on vulnerable older people and others who require care in their homes. 

“We know from many Groups dealing with the elderly and those living with disabilities,  that the  home help, homecare and personal assistant services available  was insufficient to meet their actual needs and they are now facing further reductions.

“The HSE and the Government are also proposing to slash the numbers of public nursing home beds while at the same time making bizarre claims that their priority is to keep older people living in their own homes!

“The withdrawal of spending on the use of agency staff and on overtime will also create further difficulties in many of  our public health care facilities and hospitals.

“The use of agency staff and of overtime have been made necessary by the continuing recruitment freeze.  These latest cuts will now see less hospital beds, more wards and operating theatres closed across the country and longer waiting times for patients.

“The old, the sick and people with disabilities in Irish society are being targeted by these cuts. The Government promise of change and improvements in the Health Service seem at this stage a vague and distant memory to the  thousands of vulnerable people being directly effected by these latest cruel cuts.”