Homecare services spark litany of complaints to HSE
December 14, 2010
By EITHNE DONNELLAN, Health Correspondent
FAMILIES USING a number of private homecare providers have been complaining to the HSE for more than three years about the quality of care provided to their loved ones, it has emerged.
The complaints have revolved around staff such as home helps and homecare assistants not turning up, turning up late, being verbally abusive to older people, giving the wrong medication, having very poor English and very poor skills to do their job.
Details of the complaints have been released under the Freedom of Information Act to Dermot Kirwan of the Friends of the Elderly organisation.
He said yesterday the letters of complaint released to him covered the greater Dublin area and were mainly about homecare services provided by private companies.
Thousands of families are given homecare packages every year under which they can buy home help and other services from private providers. There are now about 150 such providers in the State.
One complainant alleged an elderly lady was left soiled in her bed all weekend because the homecare assistant never turned up. When the family phoned the homecare company’s office there was nobody there.
Another said her doubly-incontinent mother “had three different carers in six days”, which meant there could be no continuity of care.
A third said a carer visited 15 times but didn’t give their relative a shower.
Mr Kirwan said the whole area needed to be regulated. “The threat of random checks would change things considerably,” he said.
“These people who are caring for the housebound or bed-bound elderly behind closed doors in the most personal and intimate way are unregistered, unregulated and unsupervised,” he said.
“It is a national disgrace, if I want to run a nursing home I need a licence, if I want to be a taxi driver I need a licence, yet I can start a homecare company without notifying anyone apart from the companies office . . . if something is not done soon, we will have another Leas Cross on our hands.”
Abridged
SOURCE: The Irish Times
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