Labour TD Seán Sherlock has slammed proposals contained in a HSE draft document to put time restrictions on the duties being carried out by home helpers.

Deputy Sherlock has described as despicable the proposals to put a time limit on breakfast and lunch preparations, personal care including shower or bed bath, oral hygiene, eye care and the changing of incontinence pads, for those in a home help role.

It really begs the question how low can the HSE go. I am shocked at the proposals which show utter disdain for the work of home helpers and our elderly. These people are providing an invaluable service by keeping people in their homes and thereby saving the state thousands in nursing home costs.

This is not a ‘Just-In-Time Manufacturing' process, these are real people who require real care and should not have their dignity further undermined by these heartless technocrats

I have seen first hand the impact the reduction in hours has had on home helpers in my constituency. Just last year a woman working as a home helper visited my clinic and pleaded with me to help do something about her hours being cut. She was caring for an elderly person, who is blind, deaf and has other serious medical conditions.

Home Helpers are also in most cases the only link that the people they are caring for have to the outside world. While the HSE will argue that these are only proposals and nothing is cast in stone, the very fact that somebody saw fit to suggest imposing a time limit on the most basic of tasks speaks volumes about those in charge of our health system. It is sickening.