Nursing home waiting lists 'could almost double' by next year
Waiting lists for places in nursing homes could be set to almost double by the end of the year.
The HSE has warned that the waiting time for a place under the Fair Deal scheme could go from 11 weeks to 20 by December.
The Oireachtas Health Committee has been told that the numbers on the waiting list will remain at over 2,000, unless extra funding is offered.
Junior minister Kathleen Lynch said that the crisis had been predicted for some time.
"If it's ringing alarm bells, it's something we've known, and have known for some considerable time," she said.
"The difference is that we do now know what we need, the difficulty is that we don't have the resources to supply it, but we do know what we need,
"I think for the first time ever, we have a very good handle on what's out there, what the need is, and what the increasing need will be."
