The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
MORE elderly people with high-dependency needs are waiting longer periods for specialised home care packages due to a High Court crux. There are at least 170 local people on a public waiting list who are medically eligible for home help hours but cannot access them following successive cutbacks in funding, totalling an estimated €1 million, for Clarecare in recent years. Since the cuts started in 2009, the reduced funding allocated to Clarecare has seen its annual home help delivery drop by about 30,000 hours annually from a peak of over 200,000 in 2009 to about 170,000, which is now delivered by 370 home helps this year. Clarecare general manager, Fiacra Hensey, said the delay in finalising a High Court case, taken by private home care providers in relation to the provision of home care, is creating a waiting list. The HSE Mid-West said it is not in a position to comment on a matter relating to a legal challenge, while …
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