Parliamentary Secretary Justyne Caruana launches live-in carer pilot project

Parliamentary Secretary for the rights of persons with disability and active aging Justyne Caruana today launched the live-in carer pilot project. This will provide elderly people with live-in carers at a state-subsidised cost.

The aim of this project is to support the elderly in living within the community and “if possible, living at their private homes for as long as possible,” said Dr Caruana this morning at the Senior Service Centre in Valletta.

The pilot project will last one year pending its success, and has been allocated a fund of €1 million.

“The government will pay a maximum of half the minimum wage of the live-in carer,” she continued.

She added that the waiting list currently stands at 1,449 persons. The cut off point for applications for this year was up to the point where the budget speech was delivered. Dr Caruana said that last year, the waiting list was upward of 2000 persons; however, through the “hard work” of employees at the Senior Service Centre and other government initiatives to help the elderly live independently this figure has been reduced.

Application approval is subject to a set of criteria, such as a minimum age of 60 and that they must have applied for residence at a home prior to the Budget speech last October.

Dr Caruana also explained that the waiting list is not being reduced based on who applied first, but rather on the individual’s circumstances. This means that somebody who has been put on the waiting list relatively late may still be awarded their live-in carers ahead of others, if that person’s needs require immediate attention.

The government will pay a maximum of half the minimum wage of the live-in carer