Aine Brady on the reasons for increased costs in public nursing homes

johnnyskeleton

Was watching the 1 o'clock news just now, and Aine Brady TD was asked to comment on why public nursing homes cost on average €500 more than private homes and she said it was due to the fact that they were older buildings (hence requiring more maintenance) and due to the layout of the buildings there were increased staff costs and because of high dependency patients.

Did she really just blame the layout of a building for increased staff costs?

OK, I know it might take 2 minutes to walk from one building to another, but surely this shouldn't result in such a large difference in costs (the private home was 831 and the public c. 1370, so more than 50% difference).

So really, behind all that is it really just overpaid inefficient workers or is there some deeper mystery to these labrynithine nursing homes where many good workers are lost each year?

http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1081811

Nemi

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

So really, behind all that is it really just overpaid inefficient workers or is there some deeper mystery to these labrynithine nursing homes where many good workers are lost each year?

http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1081811

Aine Brady is probably a prime example of what traits natural selection deems should be inherited in Irish public life.

As I understand it, two factors are generally held up to explain higher staff costs in public nursing homes. One (which she managed to mention in such a way that you'd miss it) is that higher dependency cases tend to end up in the public system. Just like the acute hospital sector, the private sector selects cases that it can actually make a profit out of.

The other is that staff in the public sector get paid the full union-agreed and Department of Health approved pay scale for the job. As I understand it, private nursing homes just have to pay above the minimum wage. And, yes, that means staff in the private sector do generally aspire to move to the public sector.

FlutterinBantam

Nemi wrote: »

Aine Brady is probably a prime example of what traits natural selection deems should be inherited in Irish public life.

As I understand it, two factors are generally held up to explain higher staff costs in public nursing homes. One (which she managed to mention in such a way that you'd miss it) is that higher dependency cases tend to end up in the public system. Just like the acute hospital sector, the private sector selects cases that it can actually make a profit out of.

The other is that staff in the public sector get paid the full union-agreed and Department of Health approved pay scale for the job. As I understand it, private nursing homes just have to pay above the minimum wage. And, yes, that means staff in the private sector do generally aspire to move to the public sector.

And irish nursing staff are the 4th highest paid in the OECD.


Still doesn't stop people like Doran whinging about pay and conditions.


Doesn't worry him that a lot of honest decent working people are on the breadline.

NO! once his vested interest is paid for , fcuk the rest of them and the country.

Seth Brundle

I don't know why the public nurshing homes are more expensive - all I can add to this was that someone I know is currently looking for a nursing home for a family member that has Alzheimer's.
Due to the nature of their illness, none of the private homes are willing to take them in as they are too high maintenance and AFAIK they will therefore be reliant on the public services.

thebman

kbannon wrote: »

I don't know why the public nurshing homes are more expensive - all I can add to this was that someone I know is currently looking for a nursing home for a family member that has Alzheimer's.
Due to the nature of their illness, none of the private homes are willing to take them in as they are too high maintenance and AFAIK they will therefore be reliant on the public services.

This just screams of bad structure and lack of effective regulation.

Much like every other sector be it banking or broadband.

Why are the Irish incapable of regulating?

My suspicion, too many lobby groups and vested interests and a government willing to listen to these groups rather than act in the public interest because its easier and seems to gets votes.

The Irish people need to realise these lobby groups and our policiians listening to them is the poison in the system.

goose2005

Expecting Brady to know anything about elder care is optimistic to say the least. She was a primary teacher until 2007, and FF parachuted her into Kildare North cos she's Tom Kitt's sister. She has no experience or knowledge in administering anything bigger than lunchtime supervision of the schoolyard, and should have stayed there.

FlutterinBantam

kbannon wrote: »

I don't know why the public nurshing homes are more expensive - all I can add to this was that someone I know is currently looking for a nursing home for a family member that has Alzheimer's.
Due to the nature of their illness, none of the private homes are willing to take them in as they are too high maintenance and AFAIK they will therefore be reliant on the public services.

I can give you the reason, the pay, terms, and working conditions in public nursing homes are far better than those in the PVT. sector .


That's about it in a nutshell.

bamboozle

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

And irish nursing staff are the 4th highest paid in the OECD.


Still doesn't stop people like Doran whinging about pay and conditions.


Doesn't worry him that a lot of honest decent working people are on the breadline.

NO! once his vested interest is paid for , fcuk the rest of them and the country.

be careful, Doran doesnt like us talking about the conditions of our nurses, we gotta back off shut our mouths as far as he's concerned

FlutterinBantam

bamboozle wrote: »

be careful, Doran doesnt like us talking about the conditions of our nurses, we gotta back off shut our mouths as far as he's concerned

Indeed.

He likes us paying though,and by default, his hefty wedge.;)


You see, my friend, you have obviously cottoned on to the old vested interest trick.Forget about all that waffle that Doran puts out about the 'patients welfare' Total bulldust! As long as Doran gets his fat wedge every month the taxpayer can fund the bloated unmanageable monolith the HSE has become.

He doesn't give a bollox, just don't forget that.

Nemi

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

And irish nursing staff are the 4th highest paid in the OECD.

Still doesn't stop people like Doran whinging about pay and conditions.

I think the full perversity is the way that we've centrally negotiated pay rates, which the HSE then partially avoids by contracting out to the private sector.

If they'd agreed a sensible rate for the job in the first place (which, in fairness to them, is largely out of the hands of the HSE as its done in those national Partnership talks), there would be no need to contract out at all.

Which would still have the private sector homes complaining, but at least the taxpayer would be getting a decent deal.

Seth Brundle

goose2005 wrote: »

Expecting Brady to know anything about elder care is optimistic to say the least. She was a primary teacher until 2007, and FF parachuted her into Kildare North cos she's Tom Kitt's sister. She has no experience or knowledge in administering anything bigger than lunchtime supervision of the schoolyard, and should have stayed there.

Her lack of experience makes her an ideal (Irish) political candidate surely?

jimmycrackcorm

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

I can give you the reason, the pay, terms, and working conditions in public nursing homes are far better than those in the PVT. sector .


That's about it in a nutshell.

Nurse get paid the same in either but the ratio of nurses to assistants is higher in public homes. Which also hilights kbannons point.

jmayo

thebman wrote: »

This just screams of bad structure and lack of effective regulation.

Much like every other sector be it banking or broadband.

Why are the Irish incapable of regulating?

My suspicion, too many lobby groups and vested interests and a government willing to listen to these groups rather than act in the public interest because its easier and seems to gets votes.

The Irish people need to realise these lobby groups and our policiians listening to them is the poison in the system.

Also nursing homes were given tax exemptions much like hotels, etc and some of the owners coudln't give a rats ass about their customers as could be seen from the scandals to have hit the sector in recent years.
In my experience I have found some nursing home staff to be poorly paid recently arrived immigrants who were not that caring.
As said the regulation of the sector has been abysmal.