This article is from page 4 of the 2012-09-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
MOTHERS of children with severe medical conditions and physical and intellectual disabilities are prisoners in their own homes as they work night and day to care for their little ones. Cutting their home care services even more would all but put these Clare parents into solitary confine ment, experts have warned.
As the budget approaches and cuts to home care packages and home help services in Clare are likely to be announced on Friday, families of children with disabilities are feeling the pressure.
Many families in Clare rely on these services to allow them time to collect the glossary shopping, spend time with their other children or even just get a few hours much needed sleep. As well as respite assistance, these families also require help with the day-to-day medical treatment of their children.
The Jack and Jill Foundation provides such support to eight children in Clare up to the age of four years old.
Liaison nurse with the Jack and Jill Foundation, Mags Naughton is dedicated to her role of providing as much help as possible to families of children with medical conditions and intellectual disabilities, but admits it is getting more difficult during the recession. Fundraising, especially corporate fundraising, for the charity has decreased in the last three to four years.
“We have gotten much busier too. In the past, we would have taken less severe cases but we have had to tighten the criteria since the recession as funding has fallen. This is very difficult. It is so difficult to say no,” said the Clare nurse.
Despite the challenges, the foundation and Ms Naughton continue to finance paediatric nurses for an aver- age of eight hours a week.
“That is max standard. It is very tiny but that is what we can give. Unless it is a palliative baby, in which case we can give up to 16 hours.”
As well as supporting the families medically, Mags provides emotional support and helps out with advocacy work. In many cases, families struggle to fill out all the forms associated with the assistance they are entitled to. Most families don’t know their entitlements and when they find out, they are often too busy or tired to fill out the booklet of information required.
Asked abut the proposed cuts, she said, “I think there is a lot of hurt: this is what has happened our child and now doors are just closed on us. A lot of people think they have a sick child and everything will fall into place but this is not the case. You are hammering on doors.
“It is already quite tight for moms to go shopping and they are watching the clock. Most moms are prisoners in their own homes and that is no exaggeration, they really are,” she said.
There is also an inconsistency around the country when it comes to applying for medical cards and other assistance.
“Carers allowance and carers ben efit, because of cutbacks for staff working in those offices, they are all held up for 16 to 18 weeks and that has a huge impact on parents as well. Domiciliary allowance is at least a 16week wait and parents have to furnish so much information; they don’t just take a consultant’s letter, they have to have an occupational assessment. That is very stressful for parents.” * The Ja ck a nd Jill Founda tion a re r a ising funds by collecting old a nd used cr utches. Anyone with old cr utches a t home a re encouraged to br ing them to Applegreen Ser vice Sta tion, a cross from St Fla nna n’s Filed in Ennis before this Sunda y September 16.