Hospital - Nursing Home - Who pays ?

S

Sanf

Guest
Hi,
I have an aunt (61) who lives alone. She has MS and is in receipt of a long term disability allowance. She recently broke her ankle and has been in hospital for the last 3 weeks in plaster. At the moment she can't walk due to MS in one leg and the other leg in plaster. The hospital are saying they might send her home and then call her back for physio in a couple of weeks time to a nearby convalescant hospital (St Joseph's in Raheny).

Someone mentioned to me that firstly its illegal / unlawful to send her home when she can't cope (never mind can't walk) and is living alone. Is this right ?

Secondly, will she have to pay for this St. Joseph's stint or could she be covered? She does have VHI (not sure what plan).

Any comments pls ?

San
 
You'll need to check the VHI plan; I think they will cover up to 2 weeks in a nursing home - you may need referral letter from hospital consultant to state that it is required.
 
they would probably want to send her home adn provide her with daily home help etc. I agree if it ain't illegal it should be to send someone home who cannot manage to walk or do basic personal and household tasks.
 
It is perfectly acceptable for a person to be discharged from a hospital if they no longer require hospital care. If this is not done then this contributes to overcrowded hospitals and the kind of problems we hear about everyday on the radio. The fact that somebody may require a different type of care is not disputed, but that can and should be provided in an environment geared to providing that personal care. I doubt very much that any hospital would discharge anybody into a situation that would not be safe.
 
Cligereen,
I don’t know what experiences you have had yet of the Irish health services, but all I can say is that you must have, indeed, been very lucky in your life so far, to honestly believe that a hospital would not discharge a patient out into an environment they knew nothing about, for the sole purpose of freeing up beds. I envy you that you have never known the trauma.

Sanf,
I note your post is 5 weeks approx old, so at this stage your initial concerns have been sorted and I’m sure at this stage you know that your aunt is entitled to home help at least one day a week. The following website which is the site for the Centre for Independent Living, might also be of use to you.

[broken link removed]
 
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