Horwath Bastow Charleton (Limerick) have produced, on behalf of Age Action Ireland, Ireland’s first authoritative Cost of Care Model for long term care in residential settings.  This work, the first of its kind in Ireland, sets out to calculate what is a true and fair cost of care in different geographic locations around the country.  The report which was published in April 2007 is appended with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into which specific local cost components can be entered to determine what is an overall appropriate price of care in a specific area.

The cost of care report specifies (based upon best international research) appropriate minimum staffing levels associated with nursing and care assistant staff levels etc. for care of older people who are heavily dependent or who have dementia.

Age Action Ireland and Horwath Bastow Charleton hope that the report will be used in setting the agenda for determining what is the minimum standard in respect of staffing Irish nursing homes and that it would also be used to properly fund the cost of care for our older people in long term residential settings.  We believe the report should be of use to industry operators, regulators, the HSE and other parties interested in the provision of care to older persons in Ireland. 

The report which was commissioned in early 2006 took 14 months to complete and is available for purchase from Horwath Bastow Charleton for an amount of €250. 

For more information, or to order a copy of the report please contact