The Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, has today issued a progress update on the implementation of the recommendations of the COVID-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel.
The implementation progress update highlights the important progress achieved across the 86 recommendations in the Nursing Homes Expert Panel report. Significant progress has been made to-date, with 65 of the 86 recommendations now considered complete or mainstreamed into normal operations, and several others nearing completion. This is an increase of an additional 12 recommendations delivered since this time last year. A range of further initiatives and workstreams are ongoing to deliver the remaining recommendations.
Government has allocated significant funding to support the nursing home sector, whilst also investing in the triangle of supports of home care, day care and meals on wheels to support people to age in place. Life expectancy is increasing, and people are staying in their own homes for longer, indicated by the stabilisation of the number of people using the Fair Deal scheme for nursing home care, with numbers recently reducing slightly and not growing to the extent forecasted by the 2018 Capacity Review.
Minister Butler, said:
“During my time as Minister, I have remained committed to developing all aspects of services for older people nationally. A consistent priority for me has been the continued implementation of the Nursing Homes Expert Panel Recommendations. I was particularly pleased to be able to secure dedicated funding in successive budgets to support this and to have brought through legislation this year to strengthen the regulatory framework for nursing homes.”
Recent key areas of progress include:
- The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Act was enacted in July 2024 and has been commenced. The Act amends the 2007 Health Act to give the regulator, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), further powers in relation to enforcement and data collection.
- The Care and Welfare Regulations have been amended to further strengthen the regulatory framework for nursing homes including in the area of visiting, Infection Prevention Control (IPC), resident’s rights, criteria for persons-in-charge and governance.
- The Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 includes a new provision giving the Chief Inspector of Social Services a discretionary power to review serious patient safety incidents in nursing homes.
- €1.6 million was provided in Budget 2024 to facilitate registered nurses working in private nursing homes to obtain a postgraduate diploma qualification in Gerontological Nursing. €1.6 million in funding has also been secured in Budget 2025 to enable a second year of this programme.
- The final research report on the development of a Safe Staffing and Skill Mix Framework for the sector will be published shortly, and Taskforce recommendations will be sent to Government early next year and a policy developed thereafter.
- The Independent Commission on Care for Older People commenced its work in March 2024 to examine the provision of health and social care services and support for older people and to make recommendations to the Government for their strategic development. A report from the Commission on Module 1 is expected in early 2025.
Other significant initiatives supporting the nursing home sector include:
- The Mobile X-Ray service was rolled out nationwide from 1 March 2024 following a successful pilot. This free, community-based service, is available to residents in nursing homes and Community Nursing Units nationwide. To-date, there have been over 11,000 examinations carried out across more than 350 nursing homes and Community Nursing Units.
- The Nursing Home Resident Safety Improvement (RSI) Scheme is a €10 million initiative which has been running throughout 2024 to provide funding to eligible voluntary and private nursing homes for works to improve compliance with Regulation 27 (Protection against infection) and Regulation 28 (Fire precautions). To-date €6.5 million has been paid out to 284 nursing homes in every county in Ireland through this scheme. A further €10 million Scheme focussing on Regulation 17 (Premises) was announced in Budget 2025.
Minister Butler, concluded:
“It is fantastic to see the important steps forward that have been taken with the implementation of the Nursing Homes Expert Panel Recommendations. The Expert Panel report was a landmark document that set out a guiding framework for the pandemic response as well as a broader programme of wide-ranging reform which will enhance the level of care delivered across the sector. Proactive and positive interagency collaboration and stakeholder engagement is the cornerstone of this reform process, and I would like to acknowledge the efforts of everyone across the sector in delivering on the Expert Panel’s recommendations.
“Recent key developments such as amendments to strengthen the existing regulatory framework as well as a funding programme to enhance nursing expertise will deliver real improvements to patient care, patient safety and staff retention in the sector.”
“Other significant initiatives to support the sector include the mobile x-ray service and funded schemes to ensure structural improvements for nursing homes. Improving access to services and enhancing the healthcare experience for nursing home residents are critical priorities for me and this government.”
