Galway Bay fm newsroom – The HSE has moved to allay fears over the future of homecare packages for patients who are discharged from Galway’s hospitals.
Chief Operating Officer Tony Canavan says the HSE committed to providing 61 thousand homecare hours per month during 2016.
He says during both January and February, 65000 hours were provided at a cost of almost 1 million euro per month – which had a significant impact on the HSE’s budget.
The executive is now looking to reduce the number of care hours to its original target of 61 thousand monthly, and fears have been raised over the implications of the cuts.
The HSE says care will be provided to those with complex needs.
Any hours which are not required by discharged patients will be ‘banked’ to ensure that there are enough homecare packages available for the winter period.
MEP for this region, Marian Harkin, says she fears that patients needs are not being met.
However, HSE Chief Operating Officer Tony Canavan says homecare is an important service that the executive is willing to invest in.
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