The families of elderly people who can no longer afford to pay for nursing home care are being asked to remove them, the Southern Health Board heard yesterday. At its meeting in Cork, the board was told that the cost of keeping an elderly person in a home had risen to £400 a week on average whereas the board's subvention was only £120. According to Fine Gael board member, Mr Bernard Allen, the result is that elderly people are being asked to leave nursing homes when they can no longer meet their bills. "Although the Ombudsman ruled six months ago that health boards should meet the full cost of nursing home care for the elderly, the boards do not have sufficient funds and therefore it will require a directive from the Minister to ensure that funds are channelled into this area. "The Health Boards are not allowed to exceed their annual budgets and so unless extra monies are provided, this crisis is only going to deepen. It seems incredible that at a time when we are discussing the Bertie Bowl, our old people are literally being evicted from professional care," Mr Allen said.
At the board meeting members adopted a motion tabled by Mr Allen seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin.