Many small to medium size nursing homes in the Sligo and Leitrim are ‘hanging on by a thread’, according to Independent deputy Marian Harkin.
The deputy has been highlighting the plight of private and voluntary facilities who currently receive 600 hundred euro less per resident per week than their HSE counterparts.
She claims there is increasing concern that many nursing homes will shut their doors because this discrepancy in funding is unsustainable.
Speaking in the Dail yesterday, Deputy Harkin urged the Government to provide a specific funding package to ensure the viability of both private and voluntary nursing homes.
Nursing Homes Ireland is calling on the government to listen to the sector and prevent nursing homes from closing down.
18 private and voluntary facilities across the country have closed their doors the past 12 months.
NHI is holding its annual conference in Kilkenny today, and has asked the Health Minister to protect long-term residential care services for our aging population.
CEO Tadhg Daly says we have the fastest growing older population in Europe and those people need to be supported:
