The number of nursing home in Ireland has fallen by nearly 4 per cent over the past five years, despite a sharp rise in demand for residential care for the country’s ageing population.
A new Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) survey reveals there are currently 437 private and voluntary homes providing a total of 22,342 beds in Ireland. Nationally there is now one private nursing home bed for every 20.23 persons aged 65 and over.
According to the study, while the number of private and voluntary nursing homes has declined, the number of beds available has increased by 1,752 over the past five years. This represent a significant slowdown in bed numbers compared with the years prior to 2010, the organisation said.
“The worrying drop in the number of homes since 2010 risks becoming a trend unless the State does more to underpin the sector’s future viability,” said Tadhg Daly, chief executive of the NHI.
The survey found that 42 per cent of existing providers wanted to develop bed numbers in the coming year to meet the rise in demand for residential care.
National average occupancy amongst survey respondents was found to be 90.58 per cent in 2014. This represented an increase of 4.18 per cent since 2009.
The average weekly rate nationally prevailing under the Nursing Home Support Scheme for accommodation in private and voluntary nursing homes is €896.
The survey indicates that over 65 per cent of residents cared for in Irish nursing homes were in the high or max dependency categories, compared to 54 per cent in 2009. Approximately 45 per cent of residents were reported to have been clinically diagnosed with dementia.
The study, which was compiled by BDO, also reveals that employments costs accounted for 61 per cent of turnover in nursing homes with the national average staff cost per registered bed estimated to be €27,130. This marks an increase of 18 per cent since 2009.
