Commission on Care for Older People Public Consultation
The Department of Health on behalf of the Commission on Care for Older People are holding a public consultation on health and social care services and supports for older people.
We would encourage as many nursing homes as possible to participate in the consultation as nursing home care is a key issue for this consultation.
Irish Hospice Foundation have put together some key areas which they have identified in terms of end-of-life and bereavement care in nursing homes, as part of their submission. We hope that others will find these useful and consider including them in their submission.
- People who are dying in nursing homes need to have access to critical out of hours support to provide end-of-life care and avoid hospital admissions.
- As a quarter of all deaths occur in residential care settings, integrating community care is an essential component of providing quality palliative and end-of- life care for residents living and dying in nursing homes. GP shortages, staff shortages and clinical governance issues in nursing homes needs to be addressed as highlighted in the COVID-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel Report (2021) recommendations.
- The lack of access to primary care services such as an OT or physio for people living in nursing homes needs to be highlighted.
- Advance care planning must be given prominence in terms of planning for the delivery of overall care of the older person but the importance of it needs to be emphasised in nursing home settings.
Closing date for submissions is 24th October.
Find out more about how to make a submission