Danny Healy-Rae: Calls Out Nursing Home Rules and Hospital Backlogs
Danny Healy-Rae spoke on 23 July 2020 about shortcomings in home help, nursing home access, hospital waiting lists and health services. He criticised limitations on home carers and nursing home visits, warned about delays in procedures and voiced concern over reopening foreign travel amid the coronavirus.
Home help and carers
Healy-Rae said Kerry is short of funding for home help and described battles to secure even an extra quarter- or half-hour of care. He cited an 83-year-old woman denied help after saying she could get out of bed but could not manage other tasks, and a man who has cared 24-7 for his sister for 17-18 years receiving just 219 euros and unsure if contributions for a pension are being paid.
Nursing homes and family access
He criticised continuing restrictions that prevent family members from entering nursing homes, saying relatives are often limited to talking through a window. He described a case of a 90-year-old man visiting his wife in a district hospital and only being able to speak to her through a window, and warned of the consequences of neglect after citing a recent case of a man found dead with maggots.
Waiting lists and hospital procedures
He cited cases including Ronan Foley and others still in pain while waiting for cancer treatment, bowel surgery, hip operations and cataract procedures. He noted patients still travel to Belfast for some care and said one woman was told she faces a four-year wait for cataract surgery. He argued for using Sundays and out-of-hours capacity, pointing to practices in the north where services operate around the clock.
Travel policy and virus concerns
Healy-Rae warned the minister that opening foreign travel risks losing control of the coronavirus and could jeopardise children returning to school. He questioned reliance on so-called green lists and raised concern that incoming travellers from high-virus areas could infect people who travel abroad, suggesting the decision favors airlines and industry pressures.
Fair Deal and family farm assessment
He called for changes to the Fair Deal scheme, saying the family farm is not properly assessed while the residential house is, and argued the scheme needs reform to protect families and estates.
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Thank you very much, Ciancola. I'm glad to get the opportunity to talk on this very important topic here this evening. And if we are to be relevant at all, as I have said before here at Ciancola, we must seek to do our best for vulnerable people, young and old. And I'll start with the old home help. We're left very shut for funding for home help in Kerry. It seems to be a battle to get a half an hour or an extra quarter of an hour even for all people. An 83-year-old woman was shut down the other day for home help. She was asked the question, can she get out of bed herself? And she said, the poor woman was honest, she said, I can, but there's a lot of other things I can't do. She was shut down for home help. Home carers, they've been totally forgotten about Ciancola. I know of one man, he has been minding his sister for the last 17 or 18 years. And she's 24-7. And what he gets for that is 219 euros. And he's rightfully complaining. He can't store, he can't go anywhere. And he's doing a massive job minding his sister. No other one could do it or no other one would do it. And he doesn't even know if he's putting up stamps for the contributory pension. He just doesn't know. Nursing homes, Minister, I've raised this and I'm very concerned about it, that family members can't go into nursing homes. They still can't go into nursing homes without savage restrictions. And barely they can get as far as a door or a window, maybe, and talk in the window. That's not satisfactory to keep. I know of one case where an elderly man, 90 years of age, went to see his wife in the district hospital. And he had to talk in the window to this woman. That's not good enough. And there must be some way that it can be done better than that, Minister, because family members and these elderly people will only confide in family members with the needs that they have. And that has to be addressed. We'll see what happened up the country with the poor man that was neglected and died with maggots in him. And the fair deal scheme has to be changed in the way it has been brought forward. The family farm can't be assessed. Yes, the residential house, not the family farm. I, too, want to cite the case of Ronan Foley, who's still in pain, and all the others who are in pain, waiting for cancer treatment, bowel problems, hips, and, yes, the cataracts. We still have to take the people up to Belfast. The other day, this woman was told she'd be waiting four years to get her cataracts removed and cut. That's not good enough. Minister, I have to say to you, I believe that he's going to lose the battle with the coronavirus and what he's done in opening up the travel. And should he jeopardize the children's chances of going back to school in September, he'll pay a very, very high price for it. It don't make sense to me, Minister, that he's allowing people out in foreign travel where they'll meet people, yes, he's saying to green countries, but what about the people that will go from the other countries that have the virus, a very strong showing of the virus, they'll meet up with the people that will go from here and bring back the virus. And then, with the poor man that wants to come for a point to his local village or whatever, he didn't live store because it's said that he's going to be the cause of increasing the virus and cause us to lose control of it. He'll be lost now, I believe, with what he's done. And I hope I'm wrong, but I believe that he'll be lost what he's done to load this foreign travel. I think he'll be holding to the airlines and the likes of Michael O'Leary. We appreciate him in other ways, but not for putting pressure on to open up the foreign travel when we're not cleared here. Again, I say to you, Minister, the people that are waiting now for months for their procedures, and it looks like they'll be waiting longer, he must do something about that. And he must also remember that people do get sick. The previous speaker said about the operations and things could be done on Sundays as well as the other days during the week. But you have to remember, Minister, people do get sick on Friday, and they do get sick on Saturday, and they have to wait till Monday for consultants to come back. That day is gone, Minister, and you'll have to see that it's gone, because people can't organise when they're going to get sick, and it's not fair to be doing that to them. They're lying there in pain, many of them, or such a consortium will be in till Monday morning. He might be in Monday evening. That's not good enough, Minister. You must deal with that. And if they can do it in the north of Ireland, and we see them doing it on Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings, they're walking around the clock, and they're making use of the gear that they have to ensure that people are seen after. You have to ensure that that happens down here in the 26th country, Minister. Thank you very much, Deputy. Thank you.
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