Kildare Nursing Homes Have Outlined "Severe Funding Crisis" Within The Sector

Several nursing homes in County Kildare met with TDs and Senators in Leinster House last week to outline the severe funding crisis facing the private and voluntary nursing home sector.

Representatives from Elmhall Nursing Home in Celbridge and from Suncroft Lodge in The Curragh were part of the Nursing Homes Ireland delegation which presented politicians with the findings of an independent PwC report into the funding crisis which has already seen the closure of 31 nursing homes and 915 beds in the past three years. 

The PwC report, commissioned by Nursing Homes Ireland, shows that nursing home closures are increasing rapidly despite their role becoming increasingly pivotal in the Irish healthcare system. The report also outlines a number of recommendations to solve the crisis, including increased State funding for nursing homes and basing Fair Deal Rates on residents’ individual needs.

Representatives from nursing homes urged politicians to take immediate action and implement the report’s recommendations to prevent further nursing home closures. In the immediate term, the report recommends the provision of the necessary funding to the National Treatment Purchase Fund to enable them to prevent further nursing home closures and to ensure that no more residents lose what is their home. 

In the longer term, the report recommends reform of the Fair Deal Pricing mechanism to enable Fair Deal Rates to be based on resource allocation and resident’s individual care needs. Alongside this is required engagement planning between stakeholders to ensure future bed capacity for Ireland’s ageing population, PwC recommend.

Tadhg Daly, CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland said: ‘’The funding crisis for nursing homes is extremely serious in Kildare, as it is across the country. Unless we see the Government taking urgent action on this and follow the recommendations in the PwC report, it is certain that we will see further nursing home closures.

"This will result in elderly residents being forced to move out of their communities and away from their families. It will also result in greater pressure on our healthcare system as nursing homes facilitate the discharge of older persons from acute hospital settings either through long term residential care or step down rehabilitation, which frees up acute bed capacity.

"Private and Voluntary nursing homes are facing unsustainable pressure which will have dire consequences for Ireland’s ageing population. In the absence of immediate action, closures will persist. More than 20 nursing homes have closed since the start of last year, due to rapidly rising costs and a variety of challenges including recruitment and increasingly complex resident profiles.’

"Ireland’s ageing population, combined with the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as dementia, will place significant pressure on the healthcare system in the coming years, amplifying the importance of nursing homes.

"The increased use of home support services has also resulted in individuals staying in their homes for longer, meaning that those entering nursing homes are now older age and of higher dependency. 

"Declining profitability in the sector due to increasing costs and insufficient revenues, coupled with rising interest rates, construction costs and land prices, has meant that the business case for additional nursing home provision is no longer commercially viable.

"The PwC report revealed a 47% increase in the development costs per bed since 2017. The same conditions are deterring current operators in making further investments in nursing homes," she added.