NEW CARE standards for nursing homes to be announced today will end the use of open wards and introduce individual care plans for all nursing home residents.
A total of 32 care standards have been finalised which will be enforced by a team of almost 50 inspectors from the Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA) from July onwards.
It will be the first time that both public and private nursing homes will be subject to inspections by an independent authority.
At present, nursing homes are inspected by the Health Service Executive, while there is no obligation to inspect public facilities.
As well as phasing out the use of open wards, the new standards will set minimum standards for bedroom sizes, en-suite facilities and limits on numbers of patients to each ward.
They will allow a six-year window for all existing nursing homes to meet these requirements. Many nursing homes, especially in the public sector, are more than 100 years old.
Other requirements relating to care and welfare of residents will come into force immediately once independent inspections begin.
These standards will significantly change the focus of inspections. Instead of “one size fits all” staffing ratios, for example, the emphasis will be on ensuring patients are being looked after properly and that individual needs are being met.
Patients will also have to be consulted over their care, how their day is structured and will have written contracts setting out what services they are entitled to.
The inspection system will largely be financed through an annual charge on nursing homes taking part in the “fair deal” scheme.
Minister for Health Mary Harney and senior officials from the HIQA are due to publish the final standards for nursing homes later today. Ms Harney is also expected to outline fresh details of how the new “fair deal” programme for financing long-term care will operate.
Under this, residents will pay 80 per cent of their disposable income towards nursing home costs and may be charged up to 15 per cent of the value of their home and assets after death, with the State picking up the balance of the bill.
The Government has stressed that this will take the burden off family members but critics have criticised it as a “death tax” and point out that others are not asked to pay for care in this way.
Nursing home residents will have assessments of their health – to determine the level of care required – and wealth – to determine a person’s care contribution.
Once this has occurred, an older person may choose from a list of public or private homes which have been approved for the scheme. The price charged for care will be agreed with the National Treatment Purchase Fund.
Nursing Homes Ireland, the main representative group for nursing homes in Ireland, says it welcomes new care standards. It has expressed concern at how aspects of the “fair deal” scheme will work and whether the true cost of care will be covered.
