Help in home for elderly proposed

The setting up of a voluntary group dedicated to helping elderly and disabled people in their homes was proposed at the recent inaugural meeting of Kilcullen 2017, the implementation group for the recently produced community development plan, writes Brian Byrne.

The suggestion by PJ Fagan was positively received by representatives of the HSE who attended the meeting. They said the organisation could support training for such a project, with trainers available from within the HSE itself.

But Anne Kearney of the HSE noted that the work of such a group would really depend on the actual needs. ”Sometimes what we perceive as needs for a group of people aren’t what are needed at all.” She added that it was very important to find out what are the actual requirements.

Esther Kiely noted that the Public Health Nurse usually knows who needs physical care in a community, but there are many older people who require other services.

Ms Kearney said that bringing up to 50 elder people into a Day Care Centre for two or three days a week was often much more beneficial than providing them with an hour and a half of home help each week. It also offered them a necessary social outlet.

As well as having to prioritise what can be provided, the services also had to be aware of what those they were helping actually wanted. ”We can’t impose on them what we think they need. It is their choice.”

Orla O’Neill commented that it has to be an informed choice.

The meeting also heard that there were 450 people aged 65 and over in the three electoral divisions where the recent Community Survey was centred. And the existing interaction from the long established organisations dealing with Kilcullen senior citizens and people with disabilities was also acknowledged.

The discussion was against the background of a new Primary Care Centre due to be opened in Kilcullen in the second half of 2013, and what facilities might be provided there.




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