The Minister for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler T.D. has announced a new €10 million scheme for structural works to improve infection prevention and fire safety in private and voluntary nursing homes.
The Nursing Home Resident Safety Improvement (RSI) Scheme will provide funding towards structural works carried out in compliance with Regulation 27 (Protection against infection) and/or Regulation 28 (Fire precautions).
This scheme is designed to support improvements in resident safety within private and voluntary nursing homes through funding support towards structural works carried out in compliance with Regulation 27 (Protection against infection) and/or Regulation 28 (Fire precautions) of S.I. No. 415/2013 - Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013 (as amended). The commencement date for the RSI scheme is 1 January 2024 and the closing date for receipt of applications is 15 November 2024.
This scheme is a vouched scheme which is open to all operational voluntary and private nursing homes registered with HIQA and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) as of 1 January 2024 and in receipt of payment under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) for the provision of long-term residential care services. Applications from nursing homes not meeting these criteria will not be processed.
The Department of Health is responsible for all policy matters in relation to the scheme and will provide oversight of the scheme. The Department of Health will report to the Minister of State with special responsibility for Mental Health and Older People on the operation and progress of the scheme.
The HSE will administer the scheme and make payments to the Nursing Homes. The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) will administer the application process and provide support and advice to the HSE.
All claims must be made for each nursing home facility on an individual basis.
Nursing homes which have previously carried out structural works covered under this scheme can claim the cost of these works if they were carried out from 1 January 2020 to the commencement of this scheme (1 January 2024). Where a nursing home is making multiple claims, these claims should be submitted in no more than two applications where possible e.g. one claim for the period 2020 to 2023 and one application for the period from 1 January 2024 to 15 November 2024.
Nursing homes whose applications are approved will have their payments processed and released on a quarterly basis by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
All works funded through this scheme must relate to improving compliance with Regulations 27 (Protection against infection) and Regulation 28 (Fire precautions) as outlined above.
The Budget 2024 allocation of funding for this scheme is €10 million. The total maximum amount that can be claimed by an individual nursing home under this scheme is €25,000.
Further details of scheme rules are available here.
The Nursing Home Resident Safety Improvement Scheme (RSI) Application Form is available here.
Queries should, in the first instance, be addressed to RSI@NTPF.ie