Michael Fitzmaurice TD says that the HSE should apologise to the Farming community following an allegation that farm families are leaving elderly relatives in hospital beds rather than sending them to a nursing home in order to protect their inheritance.
Commenting on the story, which appeared in today’s Irish Times, Michael Fitzmaurice said “It is my experience every single day of the week that people are being released from Hospital as soon as they are better and the only delays that are being experienced are when there is no Home Care Package to look after people when they are released from hospital which is down to the HSE.
“The allegations in today’s Irish Times which shows leaked e-mails from the HSE legal department which claim that the farming community are leaving elderly residents in hospital on purpose to avoid any possible penalties under the Fair Deal Scheme are a disgrace. The allegations are so far wide of the mark that they would be a joke if the issue wasn’t so serious. Dealing with people who are desperate to get to hospital to be treated every day of the week I can categorically say that people who have completed their treatment successfully are released as soon as possible by the HSE. To suggest that anything different is happening whether it be in the farming community or anywhere else is plain wrong” he said.
Shortage of Home Help Packages
“There is a huge problem with people being released from hospital and who cannot access Home Help Packages. People are being approved and allocated hours but on the ground situation is so bad in that regard that unless someone passes away a person will not actually get a Home Help Package. Any suggestion that farmers are deliberately leaving elderly relatives in hospital is a gross insult and I am calling on the HSE Director Tony O’Brien to come out and apologise to the farming community immediately for these inaccurate and baseless allegations” he concluded.