Help at Home

Practical help in the home is frequently provided for those who have a progressive life threatening illness. This can help both the individual and the family members/carers in relieving some of the stress, physical and psychological burden that can accompany the difficult journey they face.

Home Care Packages and Home Help Services are arranged via the HSE Local Health Office / Primary Care Teams which may also include care provided from voluntary organisations, and are supported by Public Health Nurse and GPs.  There are also private home care companies and nursing agencies that provide a care attendant service.

Respite is a form of help used to describe provision of a break outside the home in a suitably equipped residential setting such as a nursing home, community hospital, dedicated respite centres or hospices. Respite Care can be very helpful to people who are in a caring relationship.  Your local GP or Public Health Nurse can assist in organising a respite break.  The Carers Association has resource centres in a number of geographic regions throughout the country for carers and also provide respite breaks, and Caring for Carersalso advise on a variety of services for carers in a number of locations throughout Ireland.

Nursing Homes Ireland provide a directory of nursing homes around the country, and some of these homes will take respite bookings.The Respite Care Grant aims to cover the cost of giving carers a break in this way.

Palliative Care

When someone is facing imminent death, and chooses to remain in their home, the services of the Community based Hospice / Palliative Home care teams, the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Hospice Foundation may be in a position to provide necessary and appropriate medical and nursing support.

The Community based Hospice / Palliative Home care teams aim to support those with complex needs who choose to be cared for and sometimes die in their own homes, in a local community hospital or in a nursing home. Where patients require complex symptom management consideration may be given to refer for admission to the Specialist Hospice / Inpatient units, see attached for contact detailsList of Hospices LIST OF HOSPICES.doc (0.05 MB, MS Word) More information about access to Specialist Palliative Care services can be found here

The Irish Cancer Society seeks to provide night nursing support to people with cancer who are in the last days of their life, and this can be accessed via the public health nurse or specialist home care team.

Special equipment and home care appliances can also help with the provision of care in the home. Assist Ireland provides comprehensive information on a wide range of such equipment and appliances.

Medication initiative

Two pharmacy chains in Ireland have recently developed a medicine dosage system aimed at reducing uncertainty regarding medicine dosages and regimes.  It was developed with input from both patients and carers and has been welcomed by the Carers Association as an aid to help reduce the strain on carers at home.  Further information is available here.  MyMed Press Release and Information  MyMed Press release and information.pdf (0.26 MB, Adobe PDF)