TV presenter Brendan Courtney says the lack of support for home care services in Ireland is "appalling".
In 2017, Brendan made the documentary We Need to Talk About Dad about his family's struggles in finding care for his father.
It led to the issue being raised in the Dáil, with the Government at the time promising an improved healthcare system.
However, Brendan's mother has also recently found herself in a situation where she needs home care - and Brendan said that's revealed that little has changed since his documentary was broadcast five years ago.
Speaking to The Anton Savage Show, Brendan explained: “On the 3rd December, she fell in the car park - on her way from work, by the way, as she worked full-time as a psychotherapist.
"She broke her hip very badly.”
The hip was operated on within 24 hours, but his mother developed "really bad delirium" as a result of the situation she found herself in.
Brendan explained: “You get very confused… it presents like dementia, and it’s very upsetting.
“She’s not that agitated, she’s just confused... I’ve had to keep saying ‘we’re not holding you against your will.'"
Brendan's mother, who is in her late 70s, is being treated in an orthopedic rehab hospital, with Brendan saying it's a "wonderful facility".
She is doing really well and recovering after the fall - in fact, doctors had even cleared her for discharge.
However, Brendan said that's where the problems have arisen.
He explained: “She has been approved [for home care]... but she now joins the queue of 5,379 people on that queue.
“She’s supposed to be home - the care package is approved.
“I want to help my mother come home safely, and I make no secret of that. If I can highlight the inequality of that, I will.”
Waiting lists
Brendan explained the fear is that they could be waiting a year or longer until his mother actually gets access to the home care that she needs.
This is despite assurances from doctors that her delirium will "evaporate" as soon as she's able to return to her familiar environments.
He said thousands of other families are in the same situation, with people "languishing in hospital beds or sitting at home on their own" while they wait for a carer to finally become available.
Brendan said he "100%" thought his late father's case being highlighted in the Dáil would be a turning point, and he also believes the then health minister Simon Harris did a "great job" moving things forward.
However, he said his family has now discovered that progress has stalled and many things remain the same as they were five years ago.
He said there's "no plan" to tackle the huge waiting lists, while he's been told pilot schemes around a Fair Deal-style scheme for home care are only now getting underway despite having been promised in 2017.
He suggested if such a scheme had actually progressed, they'd be able to bring his mother home immediately.
While COVID-19 has disrupted many plans for reform in the health service, Brendan said the pandemic has shown why addressing these issues around care is so vital - pointing to the large number of COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths in nursing homes.
