The Sinn Fein Councillor for the Letterkenny area, Mick Quinn, has described plans by the H.S.E. to reduce Home Help hours by 1,500 per week up the end of the year as “ Financial Madness “.
Cllr Quinn said today: “If the aim of the H.S.E. is to save money this will certainly not be achieved by cutting Home Help hours.
“The Home Help Service is without doubt the best value for money service being provided by the H.S.E. and any reduction in hours will have a knock on effect on General Hospital , Community Hospital , and Nursing Home beds , which will dramatically impact on the H.S.E.’s budget.”
The Letterkenny councillor said that the vast majority of elderly people want to stay in their own homes in “safety and dignity” and the Home Help Service allows this to happen at a fraction of the cost of Hospital and Nursing Home beds.
Quinn continued: “Apart from the Financial folly of these plans they have a huge impact on elderly people and are nothing short of cruel.
“The compassion which was once the ethos of the Health Service has been sidelined and the only people who stand to gain from these plans are those who own or have invested in Private Nursing Homes.”
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