To ask the Minister of Health to outline the work he is doing to ensure domiciliary care packages are in place for eligible hospital patients so they can be discharged when they are well enough.

Accessing domiciliary care for patients at the point of hospital discharge remains a challenge for Trusts. However, my Department continues to work to ensure the provision of a high quality domiciliary care service.

Trusts continue to review their domiciliary care capacity, workforce rotas and waiting lists to ensure that every resource is effectively deployed for those in hospital or in the community who need care packages. Trusts also monitor and report on hospital and domiciliary care waiting lists to Health and Social Care Board, which allows for regional oversight of this issue.

While there are a range of factors which can impact upon the delivery of care ultimately the objective should be to meet the assessed needs of the service user, whether care is provided by the statutory or independent sector.

Although this would ideally be within an individual’s own home, there are occasions where this demand cannot be met. To allow for this, charges for care home beds are currently being waived to allow people to leave hospital and wait for their community care package to be arranged in a care home setting, free of charge. This is an interim measure intended to support the wider Health and Social Care system.

I have recognised the need for action to support the sector over the winter period and was therefore pleased to confirm a £23million funding package for domiciliary care and care home staff. This funding is being rolled out to providers through Trusts and as at 31 December 2021 expenditure of £6.7m had been incurred by HSC Trusts.

I have been clear that this additional funding must be used to stabilise and enhance capacity across the sector to see us through the challenging winter period.

I am pleased to say that there has already been feedback on how this new funding is helping the sector, stimulating the market and supporting new workers to enter the service.

My Department will continue to work in conjunction with all Trusts, the Health and Social Care Board, and providers, to ensure the Health and Social Care system continues to provide care for those who need it.