Shopping and housework will not be covered

Home helps in the south of the State have been told they can no longer do tasks such as housework, shopping or collecting medication for elderly and disabled patients.

In the first detailed indication of how home help hours are to be cut, HSE South told union representatives over the weekend that 32,000 hours would be cut in Cork city and county by Christmas.

Ted Kenny, Siptu organiser in Cork said the cuts, if implemented, would amount to over 3,000 hours of home help care being removed each week.

“HSE management have informed the home helps in the Cork area that they will only now be provided with hours of work with clients who need patient care.”