Social Care Community Healthcare Organisation - Area 5 (South East) c/o Community Care Headquarters James’ Green

Kilkenny

Telephone 353 56 7784600 Fax 353 56 7764172 8th February 2018

Mr. James Browne T.D. Dáil Eireann House Kildare Street Dublin 2

PQ 4065/18 To ask the Minister for Health the position regarding a house (Ard Aoibhinn house, Redshire Road, Murrintown, Co. Wexford) in which is adapted for disability living and lies vacant most of the week; if the HSE plans to use respite funding to open the house for respite services; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

PQ4066/18 To ask the Minister for Health if the HSE plans to fund a respite house (Ard Aoibhinn house, Redshire Road, Murrintown, Wexford Co. Wexford) in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

PQ 4067/18 To ask the Minister for Health his plans for expanding respite services in County Wexford in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Dear Deputy Browne,

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been requested to reply directly to you in the context of the above Parliamentary Questions, which was submitted to the Minister for Health for response.

I have reviewed the matter and the following composite response outlines the current position.

Respite can occur in a variety of settings for any length of time, depending on the needs of the family and available resources. It is not always centre-based and may be provided in a number of ways, e.g. Out-of-Home; In-Home; Home Support; Family Support et cetera.

Wexford Disability Services has two adult centre-based respite providers. One provider in (7 beds) provides adult respite three weeks in every four and the second provider in (five beds) is open eleven nights in every fourteen. Periodic respite scheduling meetings are held between HSE and service providers to provide a forum whereby those seeking respite are prioritised and their needs are met as much as possible within available resources.

There are currently two respite providers for children’s respite in the county Gorey. The available funding enables the Gorey provider to deliver children’s respite one week per month (7 beds) and the other provider in Wexford (4 beds) delivers respite breaks and a mix of After School and Saturday groups.

Respite Service Allocation At all times, service providers and the HSE are balancing the needs of multiple service users and aiming to meet the needs of the maximum number of service users, within the available resources. Each client is assessed by either the social worker or the liaison nurse using a prioritisation tool. Respite meetings are held quarterly between HSE and service providers to provide a forum whereby those seeking respite are prioritised, discussed and an allocation is provided, in order to meet their needs, as far as possible taking in to account the prioritisation tool and any other information from the members of the respite forum. A respite cancellation list is in operation.

Emergency placements for instance where a care situation at home has become critically unsafe or has broken down altogether, must take precedence over any planned respite service provision, which can be difficult for service users.

Ard Aoibhinn Section 39 Service Provider secured a house (Murrinstown, Co. Wexford) for respite services which was commissioned with HSE funding. Unfortunately there was no additional revenue funding available within the 2017/8 CHO5 funding allocation to enable the Service Provider to open this facility. Should additional funding become available, this will be considered in conjunction with other disability service priorities.

The provision of respite services in Wexford has come under further pressure in recent years. There is an increase in the number of persons (children and adults) that are seeking access to these services. There is currently increasing levels of “changing needs” due to the increase in the age of the disability population.

The need for increased respite facilities is acknowledged and the HSE continues to work with agencies to explore various ways of responding to this need in line with the budget available. Additional funding has been made available nationally for respite services in 2018. A national working group has commenced to look at how best to deliver respite services in the areas of most need. CHO5 have submitted their proposals for additional funding and this is currently being reviewed nationally.

Should you require any further information on this please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

______Ms. Patricia Mc Evoy General Manager Disability Services, Social Care Community Healthcare Organisation - Area 5 (South East)