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HSE - Home Care Packages for Older People

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  • 21-05-2011 8:57pm
    #1
    kerash
    Registered Users Posts: 6,688 ✭✭✭


    Just wondering if anyone has had experience with Hse home care packages, home help etc.
    I wont go into too much detail but my grandparents are recriving a home care package but have been told that they will have to pay for an extra helper at night to operate a hoist because my grandad has a civil service pension (very small amt) costing €75 pw and would have to pay the employees prsi, which is beyond their means.

    Now on the Hse website it says that the home care package is NOT means tested and based on needs.

    Can anyone advise on how to tackle this and ensure they are getting what they are intitled to - as the Community health nurse (not sure of the official title) but the nurse over this - is a complete bitch, and has said my 70yo grandmother has to train to use the hoist, and my grandfather should be in a nursing home anyway and is generally completely unprofessional.
    Again dont want to go into too much detail...


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    #2
    ITUPE
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭ITUPE


    Have a look at this website - the carers association do have a helpline that can give you some useful advice on rights and entitlements.

    http://www.carersireland.com/services_information.php

    On the use of hoists/and manual handling - training is a must if one is to avoid any injury to the carer's, and the person on whom the hoist is being used. Staffing levels should be based on an assessment of the personal care and manual handling needs of your relative, and part of that process should involve a risk assessment.

    Also, if your family is having problems with the Public Health Nurse (PHN), you do have the right to go over the PHN's head, and speak directly with either the Assistant or Director of Nursing. This person is usually located in the local Health Centre for your HSE area. Good luck.


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    #3
    kerash
    Registered Users Posts: 6,688 ✭✭✭kerash


    ITUPE wrote: »
    Have a look at this website - the carers association do have a helpline that can give you some useful advice on rights and entitlements.

    http://www.carersireland.com/services_information.php

    On the use of hoists/and manual handling - training is a must if one is to avoid any injury to the carer's, and the person on whom the hoist is being used. Staffing levels should be based on an assessment of the personal care and manual handling needs of your relative, and part of that process should involve a risk assessment.

    Also, if your family is having problems with the Public Health Nurse (PHN), you do have the right to go over the PHN's head, and speak directly with either the Assistant or Director of Nursing. This person is usually located in the local Health Centre for your HSE area. Good luck.
    Hi thanks for the reply. The Carers association have been very good and gave my grandmother 2 days training on using the hoist (she did one day friday gone and another this friday coming)
    I might give them a ring myself to clarify what the responsibilities of the carer are, as the PHN suggests if she cannot operate the hoist she shouldn't be a carer.
    We will probably have to go to the assistant or director of nursing, at present my grandmother and grandfather have no idea what job title any of the nurses have or what their position is.


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    #4
    ITUPE
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭ITUPE


    kerash wrote: »
    Hi thanks for the reply. The Carers association have been very good and gave my grandmother 2 days training on using the hoist (she did one day friday gone and another this friday coming)
    I might give them a ring myself to clarify what the responsibilities of the carer are, as the PHN suggests if she cannot operate the hoist she shouldn't be a carer.

    We will probably have to go to the assistant or director of nursing, at present my grandmother and grandfather have no idea what job title any of the nurses have or what their position is.

    The likelihood is that the person who your grandmother was dealing with is a Public Health Nurse (PHN), as they are usually involved in the assessment and organisation of a home help package. Usually any work that generally cannot be performed by a home carer/care assistant, would be delegated to a Registered General Nurse.

    Some of these packages are provided directly by the HSE and its staff, but alot of the personal care needs are outsourced, and contracted to private homecare providers. If the Homecare package is outsourced, which I suspect is the case, the home carer would be the employee of this private homecare company.

    I dont know what area you are living in. In the area that I have had dealings with, there was a company and albeit this story is from a couple of years ago. Care assistant's had a certain number of patients on their list that they had to do within an hour, and this was regardless of the level of dependency or the personal care needs of a client, which was quite astounding for a number of reasons.

    The consequence was that alot of corners got cut and some of the home carers gave the bare minimum. Sometimes, these home carers wouldnt even bother turning up, which would then leave the person requiring care and/or their main carer completely high and dry. More often than not, nobody would even think twice about telling the main carer, and a replacement care assistant wouldn't even be sent.


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