HSE fee to look after patients' money criticised

Opposition TDs yesterday strongly criticised plans by Minister for Health Mary Harney to introduce regulations to allow the Health Service Executive (HSE) to retain one-quarter of all interest generated from the private accounts which it holds for safe-keeping on behalf of patients in long-term residential care.

The Irish Timesreported yesterday that the Minister was planning to permit the HSE to retain the money as a new administrative charge for managing patients' private accounts.

The Government is also to draw up a new scheme to repay patients in long-term facilities who illegally had interest on their private accounts retained by the former health boards over a 30- year period.

Labour Party health spokeswoman Liz McManus described the proposal to retain 25 per cent of the interest generated on patients' private accounts as "a mean and petty move".

Fine Gael frontbencher Fergus O'Dowd accused Ms Harney of trying to sneak through another stealth charge on the elderly and urged her to withdraw it.

Ms McManus said it was unclear under what legislative basis the new regulations would be made. She suggested it was quite possible they would be open to legal challenge.

"The Government's treatment of elderly people and long-stay patients has been shameful, characterised by a series of illegal charges and deductions with the State only agreeing to repayments when forced to do so by the courts," she said.

Mr O'Dowd said when the Minister outlined plans for funding nursing homecare late last year, this measure was not included

"To introduce it now is completely unjustifiable," he said.

Age Action said if the Government was to give the HSE power to retain 25 per cent of the interest generated by the private accounts of patients in long-term care, then it must also ensure the accounts were managed in the best interest of older people.

"Age Action is aware of cases where funds in private accounts of older people were used to decorate the resident's nursing home bedroom, to buy a bed and an air mattress," it said in a statement.