Late payments crippling homes for the elderly

Managers of private homes for the elderly are crying shame on the government saying the State’s extreme tardiness in paying money to these homes is affecting the quality of care which they provide.

While some managers said they have been paid arrears for their services, others complain that they have not been paid for months. All have lamented the snail’s pace of the release of funds which the government promised to give them every month.

Brent Ramroop, a nurse for 15 years and the manager of Brent’s Manor, has been taking care of displaced elderly people for the past three years.

He explained, the Ministry of Social Development approaches homes through the Division of Ageing and requests they look after socially displaced people, ranging in age from 45-90 years old. In return, the ministry would pay the homes between $2,000 and $4,500 per month. This payment is expected on or before the seventh day of each month, according to their contracts, and would be used for food, medication, clothing and other necessities.

However, Ramroop, who has taken care of more than 15 patients sent by the ministry and is currently taking care of eight, says he has not received payment for the past three to four months.

“As a registered nurse it is heartbreaking to be in a situation like this,” Ramroop said. “These people are looking to me to provide them with a high level of care. Plus, I have financial responsibilities and I can’t even fulfil them. I have to keep borrowing from people to pay my staff and keep my business afloat. I can’t even pay rent. That is not how you do business.”

Ramroop said some of the patients are aware of his situation but he does not want to put too much of an emotional burden on them.

“Sometimes they would ask me for things but I cannot provide it for them because I have no money.”

He said the clients have a range of ailments including blindness, diabetes, hypertension and even mental illness. He said most of the people were abandoned at the hospital. They were either neglected by their families or don’t have any.

“So in order to clear bed space at the hospital, they request that we take care of them. Some of them could be street dwellers.”

The ministry, through the Division of Ageing, would pay based on the level of care needed. For critical care, where the patient is confined to a bed and needs a heightened amount of attention, the division pays $4,500 a month per person. For medium care – those who may be incapacitated but are able to move and put themselves on a wheelchair, $3,500 and for those who need minimal care, $2,000.

Most don’t even have birth certificates or an ID card, Ramroop said, so mechanisms like the Chronic Diseases Assistance Programme are not accessible to them.

“When some die, no one wants to claim their bodies,” Ramroop said. “Even the ministry pulls back. We have to call police to remove the bodies and they are left in the mortuary. The mortuary would put an ad in the paper, and if people still do not claim the body it is incinerated.”

Another private home owner, Sybil Raymond, who has been operating for the past 12 years, said she had been paid arrears in January but that was after seven months of waiting.

She said they would sometimes be paid within a two to three-month period.

“I had to do a lot of running around to get my money. Generally speaking they do not pay on a timely basis. People have been getting problems for years.”

Ramroop added that when a private home is unable to meet its monthly expenses because of the tardiness of the State, it brings the home into disrepute.

He said many homes are close to going into foreclosure, bankruptcy or increased debt, because of lack of support by the State.

"Even if they could not send money, they could send food or anything," Ramroop said.

Minister of Social Development and Family Services Camille Robinson-Regis told Newsday when contacted, several homes have cheques waiting for them to be collected.

“The government will make every effort to ensure that families are cared for and protected during this time, particularly those who are elderly and those who reside in the homes for the elderly that come under the remit of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services.

“I have had accounts investigate this issue and have been informed that there are several cheques in accounts for these homes which have not been collected. It is unfortunate that they did not contact the ministry before going to the media. We will contact these homes again and request that they collect their cheques,” Robinson-Regis said.