We are seeking funding in budget 2025 to establish a national case management service that could stop the inappropriate placement of young brain injury survivors in nursing homes for older people.

As outlined in our pre budget submission, with funding of €2m in 2025 we can expand our specialist brain injury case management team to all counties, reaching survivors nationwide and supporting them to live more independently in their communities, as close to home as possible.

CEO Karen Foley said that this modest investment by Government would transform the lives of many people and families:

“Depending on where you live, you could be discharged home without appropriate information or education about the challenges you’ll face and the rehabilitation you’ll need to rebuild your life. Worse, you may be placed in a nursing home, as no other rehabilitation supports or services are available in your community.

Our expert case managers prevent survivors of brain injury getting lost in the system or along the pathway from hospital to home. Case managers act as a single point of contact, supporting the person and their family throughout their recovery journey. They also play a crucial role in identifying those already living inappropriately in nursing homes and navigating their route back to community living.”

Karen highlighted how the 2021 Ombudsman’s Report Wasted Lives reported a major concern with the inappropriate placement of 1,300 younger people with disabilities – the majority of whom are living with an acquired brain injury (ABI) – in nursing homes. Two years on, at the beginning of 2023, 1,250 people remained in the same situation.

“At Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, we have a track record in providing solutions to this persistent problem and we can prove that it works. Case management is a central part of that.”

At the same time as creating a much-improved quality of life for the people impacted, a national case management service would represent substantial cost-saving to the state, with fewer prolonged hospital stays, the freeing up of essential hospital beds and a reduction in the burden of care on families.

Rosie Mangan, who suffered an acquired brain injury four years ago as the result of a road traffic accident described the reality of living with an ABI without access to the required rehabilitation support and expertise:

“The hospital needed to free up beds and there were so few alternative rehabilitation services available. I was one of the lucky ones to avoid that fate but for too many others it’s not the case.

The truth is that brain injury survivors are still getting lost and overlooked in the system because there is no one there to help them find a way back home and support them on the road to recovery. Specialist brain injury case managers could play a huge part in narrowing the gaps that people living with ABI continue to fall through.”

In our submission to Government, we have also called for urgent funding reform for all Section 39 organisations. Despite playing a vital role in the delivery of neuro-rehabilitation policy in Ireland, as a Section 39 organisation we are significantly underfunded and now at real risk of service closure. In addition to insufficient funding, our ability to recruit and retain our specialist staff is a constant challenge. While we welcomed the October 2023 WRC pay parity agreement, the reality is that we are still some 6% behind Section 38 organisations and the HSE, and this gap will widen in the coming months. This requires immediate action if we are to continue to be part of the community neuro-rehabilitation landscape in Ireland.