This article is from page 12 of the 2014-03-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
SENIOR HSE management has admitted that there are less home help hours available to the elderly in Clare compared to other counties, but it has already begun work to address the historical deficit.
HSE area manager Bernard Gloster said the HSE delivered more home help hours in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary last year than were funded or set out in projections at the end of the year.
In 2012 the HSE was ordered to cut home help hours and meet new targets.
“There is a significant challenge about the distribution of home help hours across the country and here within the mid-west across the counties,” Mr Gloster said during a special meeting to unveil the costings and general plans for community health services in the region this year.
“I have been the first to recognise there is a difference per head of population in Clare compared to the other two counties,” he added.
However he said that the HSE was addressing the disparity by providing 20,000 more hours last year.
In 2013 in Limerick the HSE midwest provided 17,000 less hours than the previous year, but above the year’s target, and 12,000 hours less in North Tipperary but again above target. In Clare it delivered 20,000 more hours.
“I hope that is indicative to our commitment to fair and equitable balance, while not allowing you to think at the same time we can go and turn the tap off in another county and correct an historical balance,” he said. “You can not look at home help in isolation however. You must also look at the available bed profile. The public bed profile in County Clare is 224, in Limerick it is 192, in North Tipperary it is 114 so you have to balance other emphasis that were based historically.”