Domiciliary care: Some rural areas could lose out due to funding

A major healthcare company has said it is likely it will pull out of domiciliary care in some rural areas of Northern Ireland because it can no longer afford to provide it. Connected Health has said the failure of government to properly fund the independent care sector means services will be cut with families losing out. It said warnings had been ignored by healthcare officials. The Department of Health said the entire health and social care system was facing significant challenges given the lack of an agreed budget. Meanwhile, a leaked document seen by BBC News NI has revealed plans by the Southern Health Trust to cut the amount of time carers spend on home care visits and the number of visits some people get each day. A Freedom of Information (FoI) request also revealed massive sickness levels in the Southern Trust with hundreds of missed visits costing more than £2.5m per year. A spokesperson for the trust said it was currently identifying "new and better ways of working" as it aimed to free up time to care for other service users who need support. The independent health care sector provides around 80% of home care visits to the elderly and vulnerable with health trusts deliveri