PRIVATE NURSING homes have claimed they are struggling to make ends meet because of the cost of new nursing homes standards and some will be forced to close.
Nursing Homes Ireland, which represents private nursing homes, said these homes had spent €77,872 on average per home to date, to comply with the standards.
The quality standards were introduced by the Health Information and Quality Authority last year, as part of its nursing home registration and inspection regime.
They cover areas such as staffing, accommodation, food and services.
Tadhg Daly, chief executive of Nursing Homes Ireland, said it would be a number of years before the full economic impact of the new standards became apparent.
“However, it is a matter of concern in the sector that already a number of nursing homes have indicated that they will be closing as the cost of compliance with the new standards cannot be met by them,” he said.
Mr Daly was speaking at the publication of Nursing Homes Ireland’s latest private nursing home survey.
The research by Horwath Bastow Charleton found that there had been a 9 per cent increase in private nursing home bed supply since the last survey was conducted in 2007.
Bed numbers in private nursing homes have almost doubled in the past 15 years. The survey found that staff costs had increased by 10 per cent since 2007 and now accounted for 62 per cent of turnover.
Spending on food had risen by 12 per cent and now cost €2,194 a year on average for every nursing home resident.
Under the Fair Deal nursing home support scheme, the average weekly rate in a private nursing home for a single room is €850 and €847 for a shared room.
“At a national level, public nursing homes are receiving approximately €400 more than their private nursing home competitors under the Fair Deal scheme,” it stated.
Asked about the disparity, a spokeswoman for the HSE said it had been acknowledged that there were variations in the cost of care in public and private nursing homes.
“Public nursing homes employ a greater number of nursing staff and therefore have higher nursing to patient ratios than many nursing homes in the private sector which accounts for the higher cost of care.”
She said public nursing homes had traditionally provided care to patients with high dependency levels and care needs, where their needs could not be met in other care facilities.
Áine Brady, Minister of State with responsibility for older people, said public nursing homes were probably finding it more difficult to meet the new standards than private facilities.
She said public nursing homes were more likely to be old buildings with higher maintenance, staff and energy costs.
“Hiqa give until 2015 to these facilities to upgrade them. They don’t have to do it overnight,” she said.
Nursing homes cost of care
The State’s 447 private nursing homes provide 20,590 beds.
Some 39 per cent of private nursing homes surveyed have claimed capital allowances for building or extending their facilities. Occupancy rates have fallen from 91.2 per cent in 2007 to 86.4 per cent in 2009/2010.
The average length of stay in a private nursing home is 3.6 years.
The average yearly cost of food per nursing home resident ranges from €1,587 in the northwest to €2,623 in the east coast.
The average turnover per registered bed ranges from €27,019 in the northwest to €50,397 in the east coast.
