Letter to Irish Times [15/9/2012] When is a cut not a cut?

Our letter to the Irish Times on Saturday 15th September on illogical cuts to home care services

Dear Sir,

When is a cut not a cut?

Dr. Muiris Houston has described the recent cut of €12.5 million to home care services as illogical and indicative that the Minister for Health and his officials do not understand the basic mechanics of our health service (Irish Times, September 11 2012). Why otherwise would they proceed with a cut to home care packages which will have the effect of clogging up the hospital system within weeks? This cut has not been reversed.

Nonetheless the Minister has re-assured existing recipients of home care services that they will not lose service.  Politicians are also re-assuring constituents that implementation of the cut (now called “a measure”) will be fair and sympathetic and that each case will be assessed by the HSE according to their individual needs.  The reality is that the HSE does not have a nationally consistent method for the assessment of health and home care needs; that access to home care services is discretionary; and that systematic information about the allocation and withdrawal of home care services is not in the public domain.  We may hear individual stories from people affected but we cannot generate a national picture of the true state of affairs as the cut to home care services is implemented across the country.

When is a cut not a cut? A cut is not a cut when it is reversed.  A cut remains a cut when €12.5 has been withdrawn from the budget. Political reassurances cause confusion but they do not alter the reality that a cut has been applied to the HSE budget for home care services.  This cut should be reversed immediately.  

Yours faithfully,

Patricia Conboy
Director
Older & Bolder