Ombudsman Peter Tyndall launches Sage

report on Nursing Home contracts

Elderly people are being left financially "impoverished" because of the additional

charges they are forced to pay in private nursing homes, Ombudsman Peter Tyndall

warned at the launch of a discussion document Contracts of Care for Nursing Home

Residents - Issues of Policy and Practice, published by Sage.

"My main concern is that there is clarity, transparency and fairness around any

additional charges levied. All additional charges must be laid out clearly in the

contract of care and agreed upon when signing the contract. The additional services

should also be separately itemised and costed," he said.

Speaking at the launch Sage Chair, Patricia Rickard-Clarke highlighted the

importance of contracts of care when a vulnerable adult moves to a nursing home.

She said substantial anecdotal evidence indicates that contracts are frequently

signed by a relative on behalf of a nursing home resident, even when the resident

clearly has the capacity to make decisions and stated that this casual approach to

signing of contracts of care must stop, in order to protect vulnerable older people.

The report draws substantially on the experience of Sage, which supports and

advocates on behalf of vulnerable adults and older people who find themselves in or

about to enter a nursing home, as well as analysing existing contracts and

procedures.

Mr Tyndall backed calls for an overhaul of these contracts and said the Government

must also ensure better availability of home care.

Download the report

Images from the launch of the Sage Report -

Contracts of Care for Nursing Home Residents -

Issues of Policy and Practice 12 October 2017.

Sage Representatives Tessa Digby, Willie Rattigan, Maureen Finlay

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall being interviewed by Fergal Bowers of RTE

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall and Patricia Rickard-Clarke, Sage Chair

Sage Representatives Anna Lloyd, Evelyn Phelan & Mary Russell

'Up to 10% of older Irish people are

victims of financial abuse'

As the National Safeguarding Committee continues its campaign to increase public

awareness of financial abuse Eileen O'Callaghan, Safeguarding Designated Officer

with Sage talks to the journal.ie about financial abuse and her role with Sage.

"In my work as Safeguarding Designated Officer, I see two types of financial abuse:

cases when it is callous and ruthless – and cases when family members or friends

may be committing abuse that is more subtle, or even unintended." Read more

Patricia Rickard-Clarke, Chair National Safeguarding Committee

Sage gives evidence to Oireachtas Health

Committee

Strong Support for Safeguarding Legislation

On 4th October Sage appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

along with the National Safeguarding Committee and the HSE.

The hearings were in response to the Adult Safeguarding Bill 2017 initiated by

Senator Colette Kelleher which has received all-party support.

Sage made a detailed submission and an Opening Statement.

The September 2017 edition of The Ombudsman's Casebook includes summaries of

some of the cases the Ombudsman Peter Tyndall recently examined.

One such case that was recently upheld involved 'additional charges' in a private

nursing home.

Background

A man made a complaint on behalf of his parents about a substantial increase in the

social charge in the nursing home where they lived. The charge for the social

programme was increased from €86.66 each per month to €173.33 each/ per month.

The man complained that there was no explanation or breakdown of the charge,

residents were given no choice about the charge and their ability to engage in

activities was not taken into account.

Read more (page 27)

Sage Regional Coordinators Padraig Ruane and Bibiana Savin and their teams of

volunteers are collaborating with the Irish College of General Practitioners on a

research project focusing on advocacy in general practice. The project is in line with

the Sage mission to develop advocacy service in primary and community care

settings.

The Title of the research project is ‘The acceptability and feasibility of placing Sage

advocates for vulnerable adults in the General Practice setting’.

Five General Practices in the greater Dublin area have been introduced to the Sage

Representatives in the area and familiarised with the referral criteria and process.

Patients are being identified and referred to the service by doctors or nurses in the

practices.

The quantitative analysis will focus on the number of referrals and outcomes (e.g.

attrition, number of meetings or referral elsewhere). Qualitative analysis will be based

on structured interviews between practice teams and Sage representatives and 3

consenting patients per practice.

This study will pilot the introduction of a referral pathway, assess the response and

experience of patients. Current research is limited in this field and this research may

highlight the potential for basing advocates at primary care level. This is a multi-

centre study gathering data from patients with varying demographics results, and

may form the basis for further study or expanding the programme nationwide.

The research abstract was presented at the European General Practice Research

Conference on October 19 2017.

Case Example 2:

Supports in understanding contracts of care for

residents in a facility for people with disabilities.

The Director of Nursing of a residential service for people with disabilities contacted

Sage for support following a HIQA inspection of the facility. HIQA requested that they

obtain an external independent advocacy service to discuss details of contracts with

seven residents, who have no next of kin.

Key Outcomes:

The individuals were provided with supports to understand what was in their

contracts of care as much as possible;

The involvement by Sage in this process provided Sage with an opportunity

to explore its role in cases where people have diminished decision-making

capacity and do not have a next of kin;

Important questions about oversight of contracts of care in such instances

were highlighted;

Read the full case details (p54)

Sage delivered a number of workshops on the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity)

Act 2015 in September & October providing insights into the impact of the legislation

to approximately 495 professionals, service users and their families.

For more information about workshops email: michelle.rooney@sageadvocacy.ie

What is Homesharing?

FreedomTech – A

Some Householders, struggling by

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providing companionship and light

domestic duties and sleeps in the

house overnight.

The Householder remains

independent and has the

reassurance and peace of mind that

the Sharer is there overnight in case

of emergencies and is willing to help

Passport to Freedom

The Disability Federation of Ireland,

Enable Ireland, and Maynooth

University are co-hosting our first

National Assembly on Thursday,

16th November in the Aviva

Stadium, Dublin. The aim is to

position Ireland as a leader in the

development of best practice in

relation to Assistive Technology

policy, service delivery and

international research.

The event is for everybody

committed to developing an effective

Assistive Technology (AT) service in

Ireland and we explore how

assistive technology can be made

more accessible and affordable.

The event boasts an exciting and

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internationally renowned academics,

practitioners and activists – all

looking at how accessible

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people and organisations that

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For more information on how

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Living Well with

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The Blackrock-Stillorgan Living Well

support them. Professionals working

in technology, IT, education and

employment will also benefit from

attending.

More details can be found

at www.Freedomtech.ie

MARIO is a Horizon 2020 funded

project in Active & Healthy Ageing

with 8 partners across Germany,

Greece, Ireland, Italy & the UK

aiming to help persons with

dementia battle loneliness and

isolation through the use of the

MARIO companion robot. Currently,

the MARIO robot is on pilot trials in

an Irish nursing home in Galway.

To read more on MARIO project

activities and relevant news in this

field for the MARIONet community

which includes a wide range of

stakeholders in the medical

community, industry, decision

makers at an EU level, Dementia &

with Dementia (LWwD) project,

supported by the HSE and Genio,

has been profiled as a 'success

story' by the European Venture

Philanthropy Association. This is

part of a new initiative showcasing

innovative solutions to social and

environmental challenges across

Europe. The LWwD project was one

of 9 projects supported through the

HSE & Genio Dementia Programme

to develop supports for people with

dementia in the community.

Film: Improving the hospital

experience for people with

Dementia

The HSE & Genio Dementia

Programme has also been

supporting three hospital-based

consortia to develop an integrated

care pathway for people with

dementia. These projects have

undergone an extensive evaluation

and further films, information and

learnings will be released in the

coming months. In the meantime,

get a flavour for the work of the

projects through this 5 minute

introductory film.

Dementia Understand Together

Alzheimers advocacy groups, Active

Age & Retirement groups & the

general public at the Mario website,

Pictured are Bibiana Savin (Sage), County

Mayor Guss O’ Connell and Brendan

Murphy (Sage)

Tallaght Community

Health Fair

Tallaght Community Health Fair took

place in Tallaght Stadium on the

19th of September. Sage was one of

Genio are proud partners of the

Dementia Understand Together

Campaign led by the HSE, which

recently launched a website with

very useful information, resources

and contacts for the public.

over 60 health and community

services took part in talks, health

screenings and so much more!

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