THE mother of a profoundly disabled Southside woman fears that she may not be able to continue caring for her daughter.
Noelle Scanlan, from Dalkey, is the mother of 25-year-old April Bryan, who suffers from cerebral palsy and needs full-time care.
Ms Scanlan said she was informed recently by a Dun Laoghaire based HSE worker that she would lose up to two of the 11 home help assistance hours she currently receives every week to care for her daughter.
The Government recently announced plans to cut the provision of its home help service by 600,000 hours, as part of an attempt to make savings of e130 million before the end of this year.
Ms Scanlan explained that her daughter’s disability is so acute that she needs constant care.
“She is profoundly disabled and can do absolutely nothing for herself,
? she said.
“Her mental capacity is fine. She is able to attend college and is studying a diploma course in psychology in UCD. But physically she is confined to a wheelchair. She needs full assistance with everything – feeding, toileting, washing and everything else.
?
Ms Scanlan, who is currently recovering from an illness, fears that if her home help hours are cut she may not be able to cope and could be forced to send her daughter to a full-time care facility.
“I receive home help in the house for 11 hours a week. I only got that because I became ill in April of this year myself. I had to explain to them that if anything happened to me, April would be in an institution where it would cost e180,000 a year to care for her,
? she continued.
Catherine Cox, communications manager at the Carers’ Association, said the cuts would prevent people from being cared for in their homes by their families.
“We have had carers calling our centres around the country,
? she stated.
“In some cases, if their hours are cut, it can mean the difference between being able to continue caring for their loved one in the home and having to send them to a nursing home.
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Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP) has described the cuts in home help hours as
“an attack on the elderly and the disabled
?.
He has also raised concerns about Government plans to privatise parts of the HSE home help service.
“These disgraceful cuts and moves to privatise home help will cause suffering and hardship for the elderly and the disabled citizens, and the home help workers who look after them,
? he said.
“It will also probably not save any money for the State because more of these elderly and disabled people will require residential and nursing home care. This will put more pressure on the public health system.
?
A protest against the planned home help cuts will take place in the city centre on Wednesday, October 17.
A spokesperson for the HSE said they did not comment on
“individual client care matters
?.
“However, it should be stressed that there is currently no additional cuts to home help hours in the DML region over and above those outlined in the Regional Service Plan published earlier this year,
? the spokesperson said.
“As in normal practice services are being reviewed on an ongoing basis but this process is based entirely on the needs of the clients.
?