Debate contribution: Domiciliary Care Packages: Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Debate contribution by Mr Keith Buchanan on 13 February 2024.

MLA

Mr Keith Buchanan

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

13 February 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Domiciliary Care Packages: Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4206530

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Mr Deputy Speaker, I congratulate you on your new role. You look well in that Chair, I must admit. I also congratulate the Minister: after a stay of absence, he is back in the role, and I wish him well. I thank the Member for raising this important issue of domiciliary care packages in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. I have first-hand experience of the work that these teams do. My mother, now in her 91st year, is being looked after by two ladies, or sometimes by two gentlemen; time and time about. They do an excellent job in a very professional manner. She is cared for like an egg. She is not watching this on social media, and please do not tell her that, but she is looked after like an egg, to be honest. First thing this morning, I had the privilege of doing the medication run before I came here. She is doing well, but I think that the points that the Member raised are vital. There are seven of us as a family, and the care packages take the entire pressure out of the situation. We can fill in the gaps and do a bit around it all, but you could not do it all. Everybody in every household has a busy life, so it is a very valid point. Sometimes, animus in families means that they can be at each other's throats within three or four months of an elderly person, or any person in the family, needing that kind of care. That can put a lot of strain on a family, so it is a very valid point. Constituents and their families who are waiting for a package of care contact my office weekly, and the Member who has just contributed mentioned that that also happens in her office. Some are in hospital while others are already back in their own home and waiting for the necessary package. Every individual patient has different care needs. Many want to continue to have some independence and want to live in their own home for as long as possible, with the much-needed supportive care in the home. To do this, they need practical support with daily living tasks such as personal care and preparing food. Some need adaptations to their homes to ensure that they can continue to live as independently as possible without needing residential or nursing home care. The lack of domiciliary care packages means that patients who are medically fit to be discharged are remaining in hospital beds or in other facilities, as previously mentioned. That has a knock-on effect on our emergency departments and the number of available inpatient beds. I note that the Minister responded to a priority question for written answer tabled on 5 February — just last week — by saying:

"The Trust has reviewed the systems within their in-house Homecare service to improve efficiency and deliver higher levels of face-to-face time with service users. The Northern Trust have contracts with 22 Independent Sector Providers which includes 3 new providers who signed contracts in the last year."

I also welcome the confirmation:

"The Trust has commenced a contract with a new provider in the Mid-Ulster area".

Those are the Minister's words, not mine. I hope that this will alleviate some of the problems with outstanding packages of care. Obviously, we will see the outworkings of that, if that is the case. No doubt it is the case, but we will see the outworkings of that. The challenges were previously mentioned. Obviously, mid Ulster, as was said, is a very rural area. We know that we have a growing older population. The average age is increasing faster, and this has implications for health service providers. The longer distances and higher travel costs have implications for providers of domiciliary care, and delivering community-based care can be more expensive, especially in rural areas. In can be more difficult to recruit home care professionals, and travel allowances are not as generous as in other industries. All health trusts have waiting lists for home care, and it is of concern. On 25 January 2024, in a presentation to Mid Ulster District Council — these are the figures that the Member who spoke previously mentioned — Jennifer Welsh, the chief executive, revealed that 1,700 people were waiting in the community for some element of a care package. In addition, Brian Beattie, director of adult community services in the Southern Trust — I know that we are talking about the Northern Trust, but I just want to give some context — advised that 700-plus people are waiting, although that was a decrease of approximately 100 compared with the figure of December 2023. That gives some reflection of what is happening in the trusts. I appreciate that the trusts are different sizes, but it gives some indication of how high that figure of 1,700 is. Although I acknowledge that not all those patients reside in mid Ulster, that context gives an overview of the waiting list figures across both trusts. Some families are offered direct payments. That may work for some who have a neighbour, friend or relative who can do the work, but it is not always possible for a family to actually find someone who can do this type of work or who finds that it suits them to do only a small amount of time in the day. Covering the seven days can often be a challenge. It can work for some, and it would be interesting to know whether the Minister has the detail on the percentage of care that is carried out through direct payments. He may or may not have that information, but it would be interesting to note how many families take it up. To summarise, I call on the Health Minister to implement the necessary reforms to tackle the underlying issues with care packages, and I look forward to his response. Our healthcare workers, including our domiciliary care workers, need the support and changes that will address the current situation.

1,012 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:36 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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