Nursing home residents ‘ripped off’

Residents in nursing home are being “drained” of what is left of their pension by having to pay top-up charges of over €3,600 a year, according to unpublished complaints.

e additional charges are being levied on top of Fair Deal contributions.

e grievances by private nursing home residents and their relatives are disclosed in correspondence to the watchdog Hiqa and seen by the Irish Independent.

One person said an elderly relative paid €70 a week in a supplementary charge and this “drains their pension, leaving them with no spending money”.

Residents must pay for chiropody services, toiletries and clothes out of what’s left.

It was originally called an ‘activities charge’ but was changed to ‘supplementary charge’ because residents who had to stay in bed all day could not avail of them, the complaint released under Freedom of Information claimed.

Another said a resident with a medical card, entitled to free GP care, was paying €160 a month for the nursing home’s contracted doctor.

And one complainant cited a €60-a-week service charge to include physiotherapy assessment, falls prevention systems and occupational therapy.

A major concern is that the charges are imposed on residents whether they use the ser-

Your credit, and your loans

vices or not. One resident paid an extra €100 a month while “bingo and quizzes are done by sta members and there is no activities co-ordinator”.

One relative said they felt they were being “ripped o ”.

Nursing homes have insisted they have no choice but to levy the charges because Fair Deal covers only the basics.

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John Ellis Page 16

Dr Eoin Everard from Kilkenny City, a lecturer at South East Technological University (SETU), is a new World Champion after running an amazing race in Poland to win gold for Ireland.

A lecturer in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science on SETU’s Waterford Campus, Eoin has recently returned from the World Masters Athletics Indoors Championships in Torun, Poland after winning the 3000m in the M35 category.

Speaking to The Kilkenny Observer about the race, Eoin said: “I was absolutely delighted to win the World Championships. The American runner Mark Husted has run 1.47 for 800m in the past so I knew it would be a very close finish. I was thrilled to be able to run 26 seconds for the last 200m and get the victory.”

Eoin believes that being active in your sport is so important when it comes to teaching students. “The staff in SETU have a lot of practical experience coaching or competing and I think that helps us when teaching our students.

“The students and staff have been so supportive since winning which makes the victory even sweeter.”

A member of Kilkenny City Harriers, Eoin was a distinguished athlete at national senior level before commencing his career in the