The Health Service Executive (HSE) have a process whereby each HAA cardholder will be offered an individual assessment by a nurse or other healthcare professional. The assessment will be carried out in order to ascertain each person\’s requirements for support and services now and into the future. The Irish Haemophilia Society and the other support organisations were involved in a process of consultation in relation to this assessment process. We view this as a constructive process whereby the needs of each member can be currently assessed and re-assessed or re-evaluated in the future as your requirements change.
Some key elements are as follows:
• Each HAA cardholder will be offered an individual assessment. This assessment will be carried out by a healthcare professional, who will be a public health nurse, a home help organiser from the HSE or a clinical nurse co-ordinator.
• If you wish to have an assessment carried out by a nurse or healthcare professional from outside your geographic area, you may request this from your local liaison officer and this will be facilitated.
• During the assessment, you may have your partner, spouse or carer present.
• The assessment will not require you to fill in forms or deal with a lot of paperwork. The healthcare professional will visit you at home or will meet you at another suitable location and they will fill in the forms.
• You may, if you wish, have a representative from the Irish Haemophilia Society present in order to assist you with the process.
• Any current arrangements you have in relation to home support will remain unchanged until your assessment has taken place.
• If you are not currently in receipt of any home support and you wish to avail of same, you should contact your liaison office to set up an assessment.
We have also been asked by Revenue to issue a reminder to members who receive home support payments. If you employ a family member, friend or relative to carry out your home support, you are obliged to register as an employer of this person for the purposes of PAYE/PRSI. This is a general reminder. We have been assured by the HSE that your confidentiality will at all times, be protected. If you are in receipt of home support payments, this is a confidential matter between you and the HSE. If you have any questions or queries in relation to this, please contact Ms. Ger Kane, Hepatitis C National Co-ordinator on 01 620 1750.