Families Train As Carers to Cut Health Bill (IRELAND)

Families train as carers to cut health bill

By Geraldine Gittens

Thursday September 24 2009

Nursing home bills have forced family members to train as carers because they cannot afford to keep their elderly loved ones in expensive residences.

A growing number of people are signing up for Safe Pass To Care courses, in order to save on costly nursing home bills.

Liam Donnelly, from Sandra Cooney's Health Care, who set up the newly opened Northside Training Centre in Ballymun, calls the carer profession 'the new IT' because of the increase in demand.

"To be cared for in the home is cheaper than a nursing home. The elderly person can keep their independence, too.

"It seems to be the new IT. It's a new profession that has only started in the last few years. It was totally unregulated before."

The average nursing home costs between €1,100 and €1,200 per week in the east of the country, and around €800 in the cheaper north west, according to Age Action.

Burden

Liam said many people cannot afford to pay for a home carer to look after their loved ones, either.

With HSE funding and tax rebates available to people who want care in their own homes, many people are now asking local priests, community nurses and social workers about where they can turn.

Abridged
SOURCE:   The Herald, Ireland
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