You’re getting older and finding it increasingly difficult to cope at home. Or you think an elderly relative is in need of 24-hour care, but you’re not sure how to go about accessing a nursing-home place. Who do you contact? Is a physical examination required? And who does the test?
The first step to finding all this out is calling your local HSE Nursing Home Support Office. You can get contact details for your nearest office online on www.hse.ie. You’ll be told that you need to apply to have a care needs assessment done.
You will then be sent out a form to apply for this. The form can also be downloaded. It is a straightforward short form and you complete parts one and two of it, giving basic details and a request for the assessment.
When the HSE receives your application, a healthcare professional will be assigned to do your assessment. This professional could be a GP, a consultant or public health nurse, depending on whether you are in hospital or at home at the time.
The decision about whether or not you need nursing-home care will be made based on an evaluation of your general circumstances, your ability, mobility and general health.
WHAT WILL THE DOCTOR LOOK AT?
He or she will need to decide whether or not you could still be supported to continue living at home or if long-term nursing-home care is now more appropriate. Remember, the assessment may involve a physical examination.
The health professional will be assessing:
• Your ability to carry out the activities of daily living; for instance, things such as bathing, shopping, dressing and moving around.• The medical, health and personal social services being provided to you or available to you at the time of the assessment.• The family and community support you have.• Your wishes and preferences.The doctor or nurse then goes away and prepares a report, and you will get a copy of this, along with the HSE’s decision, in due course. The report is known as the common summary assessment report (CSAR).
What if you disagree with the decision?
Say you feel you need nursing-home care, but the report states you don’t need it yet. Is there anything can you do? Yes, you can appeal the decision. Section eight of the information booklet related to the Fair Deal has the details of this review/appeal process.
What happens when you’re accepted?
If you are deemed to be in need of full-time nursing-home care, you will then fill out the financial part of the Fair Deal application form, if you choose to avail of this nursing homes support scheme.
This is where you apply for State support – financial support – toward the cost of your care.
Post-Budget details of the updated rules around this aspect of the nursing homes support scheme will be available on www.hse.ie.
How do the professionals view the assessment?
“The care needs assessment tool (CSAR) that’s used is very respected by clinicians. It is a standard assessment and a good mechanism. We haven’t heard any issues in relation to it. It is always done by a health professional,” according to Family Carers spokesperon Catherine Cox.
Speaking with some HSE staff who work in the Fair Deal area, the belief is that care needs assessments for the scheme are very well managed.
“The assessment is very, very clinical,” Irish Country Living was told. “GPs do the initial work – and consultants, of course. If the client is in hospital the geriatrician does it. If the patient is at home the public health nurse may call to meet the client in the home setting.
“There are very stringent rules around the assessment. The medical professional would verify and check that the criteria are met for full-time care.”
what if I change my mind?
However, there is a “window” if you change your mind about going into a nursing home – at least for a while, also, according to HSE staff.
“If you have been deemed in need of nursing-home care through having the Fair Deal care needs assessment done but you change your mind about going to a nursing home because you maybe feel you can manage a while longer at home, there is a six-month ‘window’ during which it is possible to re-apply without going through the whole assessment procedure again.”
Where can I find out more?
For more articles about the Fair Deal and recent changes see the IFJ’s ‘Fair Deal’ tag page ifj.ie/fairdeal
SEASONAL FLU VACCINATION
Flu is a very infectious and potentially serious illness, and a new flu vaccine must be given each year. It can even be life threatening for older people, pregnant women and those with a long-term illness.
Vaccination against flu is strongly recommended for:
• Those over 65.• Those with long term medical conditions.• Those with impaired immune systems, including all cancer patients.• Persons with a BMI over 40.• Pregnant women.• Residents of nursing homes and long-stay institutions.• Carers.• Healthcare workers.• People with regular close contact with poultry, water fowl or pigs.Contact your GP or pharmacist to get the vaccine. It is free to those with medical cards or GP visit cards and to those in the recommended groups, but those without medical cards or GP visit cards will be charged a consultation fee. In pharmacies the vaccination generally costs around €25 to € 30.
The flu virus changes each year, so a new vaccine has to be given each year. This year’s seasonal flu vaccine contains protection against three strains of flu virus that the World Health Organisation believes to be the strains most likely to be circulation this season.
The seasonal flu campaign for 2017/2018 will continue until the end of April 2018.
PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINEs
If you are 65 or over or have a long-term medical condition, you should ask your doctor about the pneumococcal vaccine.
Often confused with pneumonia, this virus can cause illnesses like meningitis, pneumonia and septicaemia for at-risk groups , or instance, over 65s and those with weak immune systems. It’s common too. More that half a million people aged 65 and older may be at risk, and one in 10 who contract it will die.
Four organisations – the Asthma Society of Ireland, Age Action, Diabetes Ireland and Croi – are encouraging the at-risk group to speak to their doctors about avoiding the disease.
HPV Vaccination Programme
The HSE recently launched its 2017/18 schools HPV vaccine programme and information campaign. Its aim is to support parents in ensuring their daughters get the vaccine that can protect them from cervical cancer.
“We know there are many conflicting and misleading sources of information out there,” Dr Stephanie O’Keeffe of the HSE said at the launch. “The only Irish website containing information that has been formally accredited by the World Health Organisation is hpv.ie. We strongly urge all parents, teenagers and interested parties to visit this trusted source, where they will learn about the vaccine: how it saves lives and its excellent safety record.”
In Scotland, where their vaccination programme has been in place since 2008, they have seen a 90% decrease in HPV infections.
HSE LIVE replaces InfoLine
There are several ways you can make contact with the Health Service Executive, since the recent launch of HSELive, a new multi-channel public information service.
The website www.hse.ie now has a LiveChat function and the HSE will also respond to questions from the public on Twitter.
The HSELive team is available six days a week: from 8am to 8pm from Monday to Friday and 10am to 5pm on Saturdays.
“We want HSELive to be the go-to information service for everything you need to know about accessing public health services,” says Kirsten Connolly, lead on the HSELive Transformation Project.
The LiveChat service has been trialled since last November and over 27,000 people have already used it and were 90% satisfied with the service, which includes:
• Telephone – Callsave 1850 24 1850, or from a mobile call 041 685 0300.• LiveChat – Visit HSE.ie and click on the chat icon in the corner.• Twitter – Tweet @HSELive.• Email – hselive@hse.ie.
You’re getting older and finding it increasingly difficult to cope at home. Or you think an elderly relative is in need of 24-hour care, but you’re not sure how to go about accessing a nursing-home place. Who do you contact? Is a physical examination required? And who does the test?
The first step to finding all this out is calling your local HSE Nursing Home Support Office. You can get contact details for your nearest office online on www.hse.ie. You’ll be told that you need to apply to have a care needs assessment done.
You will then be sent out a form to apply for this. The form can also be downloaded. It is a straightforward short form and you complete parts one and two of it, giving basic details and a request for the assessment.
When the HSE receives your application, a healthcare professional will be assigned to do your assessment. This professional could be a GP, a consultant or public health nurse, depending on whether you are in hospital or at home at the time.
The decision about whether or not you need nursing-home care will be made based on an evaluation of your general circumstances, your ability, mobility and general health.
WHAT WILL THE DOCTOR LOOK AT?
He or she will need to decide whether or not you could still be supported to continue living at home or if long-term nursing-home care is now more appropriate. Remember, the assessment may involve a physical examination.
The health professional will be assessing:
• Your ability to carry out the activities of daily living; for instance, things such as bathing, shopping, dressing and moving around.• The medical, health and personal social services being provided to you or available to you at the time of the assessment.• The family and community support you have.• Your wishes and preferences.The doctor or nurse then goes away and prepares a report, and you will get a copy of this, along with the HSE’s decision, in due course. The report is known as the common summary assessment report (CSAR).
What if you disagree with the decision?
Say you feel you need nursing-home care, but the report states you don’t need it yet. Is there anything can you do? Yes, you can appeal the decision. Section eight of the information booklet related to the Fair Deal has the details of this review/appeal process.
What happens when you’re accepted?
If you are deemed to be in need of full-time nursing-home care, you will then fill out the financial part of the Fair Deal application form, if you choose to avail of this nursing homes support scheme.
This is where you apply for State support – financial support – toward the cost of your care.
Post-Budget details of the updated rules around this aspect of the nursing homes support scheme will be available on www.hse.ie.
How do the professionals view the assessment?
“The care needs assessment tool (CSAR) that’s used is very respected by clinicians. It is a standard assessment and a good mechanism. We haven’t heard any issues in relation to it. It is always done by a health professional,” according to Family Carers spokesperon Catherine Cox.
Speaking with some HSE staff who work in the Fair Deal area, the belief is that care needs assessments for the scheme are very well managed.
“The assessment is very, very clinical,” Irish Country Living was told. “GPs do the initial work – and consultants, of course. If the client is in hospital the geriatrician does it. If the patient is at home the public health nurse may call to meet the client in the home setting.
“There are very stringent rules around the assessment. The medical professional would verify and check that the criteria are met for full-time care.”
what if I change my mind?
However, there is a “window” if you change your mind about going into a nursing home – at least for a while, also, according to HSE staff.
“If you have been deemed in need of nursing-home care through having the Fair Deal care needs assessment done but you change your mind about going to a nursing home because you maybe feel you can manage a while longer at home, there is a six-month ‘window’ during which it is possible to re-apply without going through the whole assessment procedure again.”
Where can I find out more?
For more articles about the Fair Deal and recent changes see the IFJ’s ‘Fair Deal’ tag page ifj.ie/fairdeal
SEASONAL FLU VACCINATION
Flu is a very infectious and potentially serious illness, and a new flu vaccine must be given each year. It can even be life threatening for older people, pregnant women and those with a long-term illness.
Vaccination against flu is strongly recommended for:
• Those over 65.• Those with long term medical conditions.• Those with impaired immune systems, including all cancer patients.• Persons with a BMI over 40.• Pregnant women.• Residents of nursing homes and long-stay institutions.• Carers.• Healthcare workers.• People with regular close contact with poultry, water fowl or pigs.Contact your GP or pharmacist to get the vaccine. It is free to those with medical cards or GP visit cards and to those in the recommended groups, but those without medical cards or GP visit cards will be charged a consultation fee. In pharmacies the vaccination generally costs around €25 to € 30.
The flu virus changes each year, so a new vaccine has to be given each year. This year’s seasonal flu vaccine contains protection against three strains of flu virus that the World Health Organisation believes to be the strains most likely to be circulation this season.
The seasonal flu campaign for 2017/2018 will continue until the end of April 2018.
PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINEs
If you are 65 or over or have a long-term medical condition, you should ask your doctor about the pneumococcal vaccine.
Often confused with pneumonia, this virus can cause illnesses like meningitis, pneumonia and septicaemia for at-risk groups , or instance, over 65s and those with weak immune systems. It’s common too. More that half a million people aged 65 and older may be at risk, and one in 10 who contract it will die.
Four organisations – the Asthma Society of Ireland, Age Action, Diabetes Ireland and Croi – are encouraging the at-risk group to speak to their doctors about avoiding the disease.
HPV Vaccination Programme
The HSE recently launched its 2017/18 schools HPV vaccine programme and information campaign. Its aim is to support parents in ensuring their daughters get the vaccine that can protect them from cervical cancer.
“We know there are many conflicting and misleading sources of information out there,” Dr Stephanie O’Keeffe of the HSE said at the launch. “The only Irish website containing information that has been formally accredited by the World Health Organisation is hpv.ie. We strongly urge all parents, teenagers and interested parties to visit this trusted source, where they will learn about the vaccine: how it saves lives and its excellent safety record.”
In Scotland, where their vaccination programme has been in place since 2008, they have seen a 90% decrease in HPV infections.
HSE LIVE replaces InfoLine
There are several ways you can make contact with the Health Service Executive, since the recent launch of HSELive, a new multi-channel public information service.
The website www.hse.ie now has a LiveChat function and the HSE will also respond to questions from the public on Twitter.
The HSELive team is available six days a week: from 8am to 8pm from Monday to Friday and 10am to 5pm on Saturdays.
“We want HSELive to be the go-to information service for everything you need to know about accessing public health services,” says Kirsten Connolly, lead on the HSELive Transformation Project.
The LiveChat service has been trialled since last November and over 27,000 people have already used it and were 90% satisfied with the service, which includes:
• Telephone – Callsave 1850 24 1850, or from a mobile call 041 685 0300.• LiveChat – Visit HSE.ie and click on the chat icon in the corner.• Twitter – Tweet @HSELive.• Email – hselive@hse.ie. 
This is a subscriber-only article
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