Elderly Leitrim man left without care for an entire weekend, meeting hears

A meeting of Leitrim County Council heard a harrowing account of an elderly man left without care for an entire weekend.

Cllr Gary Prior (FF) highlighted the case at this Monday's monthly meeting of the council.

“I received a disturbing call from a homecare worker. They called into an elderly man, who was left wearing a soiled nappy for a whole weekend because no agency staff called to him,” Cllr Prior told the meeting.

He made the claim as part of a motion that he submitted, calling on the Minister for Health to meet with councillors due to the crisis in home care in Co. Leitrim.

His motion also asked that councillors would meet with “senior officials from the Department of Health and the HSE.”

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“Due to recent retirements and some changes to staff working hours, frontline staff are expected to absorb service shortfalls, which in turn is placing unsustainable pressure on staff and leaving vulnerable service users without adequate care,” the motion continued.

“The home care crisis is severe in Leitrim. There is a huge shortage of staff, particularly in the Ballinamore and Carrigallen areas. Due to retirements, there is no-one to take up these calls,” he told the meeting.

He went on to outline other problems arising from the staff shortage. “Agency staff are driving on provisional licences and parents can't be discharged from hospital due to the lack of a home care package for them,” Cllr Prior explained.

He continued to lay the problem out in stark terms. “There are people lying in beds wondering if someone is going to call on them. There is a retired person who feels that it is their duty to visit these people,” Cllr Prior commented.

Cllr Paddy O'Rourke (FF) supported the motion. “This scheme will soon be non-existent, due to a lack of staff. I initiated a course through the ETB, but when people are trained there is no guarantee that they will work the HSE. They might take better jobs,” he stated.

“In November 2024, I called on the HSE to attend this council chamber to explain why shortfalls are occuring. 24 years ago, I had the experience of sitting on a health board. In those days, you would get an answer within a few days to a question. Now, we have the HSE, which is not answerable to anyone,” he added.

Cllr O'Rourke went on to say that rather than a visiting minister being brought to “somewhere where there is a good news story, they should be brought to a house, where someone hasn't had a call all weekend.”

Cllr Felim Gurn (Ind) outlined the frustration of sitting in on meetings with the HSE. “There could be 45 of us on a meeting with eight or ten staff of the HSE, it is a frustrating process,” he stated.

“Home care staff are coming into houses, where they aren't lighting a fire. It is just ticking boxes,” he claimed.

“They want people to stay at home, but then they can't get homecare,” Cllr Gurn added.

Cllr Enda Stenson (Ind) said that “this is so worrying for older people, something needs to be done properly about it.”

“Half an hour with a person does nothing for them,” he added.

Cllr Enda McGloin (FG) stated that “a person who runs a training course may have 15 or 16 starting a course, but maybe 5 or 6 people will finish the course. People who qualify from the course may take up employment with agencies.

“The working day is complicated – it may start early in the morning and it is not an easy lifestyle. There are multiple issues,” he explained.

“It would be better if a carer was attached to two or three people. It would make the working day more sustainable. A person who is qualified may get a job offer 20 miles away,” Cllr McGloin added.

“The Government do not put enough value on older people,” according to Cllr Eddie Mitchell (Ind).