Fianna Fáil TD for Donegal Charlie McConalogue has welcomed the recruitment of additional home help staff in Donegal over the last 12 months, but is warning that resources will need to be increased to keep up with the demand for services.
In a letter to the Deputy, the HSE has confirmed that there are currently 500 home help staff working in Co. Donegal, with approximately 2000 clients in receipt of care.
“Home help staff provide an essential service to families who want to take care of their loved ones in the comfort of their own homes.
“I am pleased that the importance of the service has been recognised with increased staff numbers in 2017, with 36 new home helps recruited.
“The important work that home help staff undertake is vital in reducing pressure in other areas of our health service”, said Deputy McConalogue.
“Despite this however, it is also clear that there is substantial demand for these services. The HSE has confirmed to me that there are currently 116 clients waiting on home help hours. I want to ensure that these people have access to these essential services and I will be raising this issue with the Health Minister and the HSE.
“Progress on staffing levels has been made but we need to go further to keep up with demand and I intend to keep the pressure on the government to ensure that additional staff are recruited to the services in Donegal”.
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