An organisation for live-in carers says Northern Ireland must look to Germany to help elderly people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Europe's largest provider of live-in care services says priority should be given to delivering safe, effective and high-quality care with better chances of limiting the further spread of the pandemic.
And they believe it is more practical and less risky to look after senior citizens in their own homes.
Promedica24, which operates in Northern Ireland, the UK and Germany, has gathered reports of how different care systems reacted to the outbreak of the pandemic.
Paula Beaney from the organisation, said: "We believe the high level of live-in care services provided in Germany have enabled a higher number of people to self-isolate with the carers in the comfort of their own homes rather than at care homes.
"This has ultimately limited the spread of the infection among the most vulnerable groups and decreased the numbers of potential victims.
"Unfortunately, despite the evidence of the Covid-19 pandemic in care homes, they are still being favoured by the hospital discharge teams and are often seen as the default care option upon discharge, without consideration of alternative and safer care options.
"The problem lies in the little understanding of the public as to what care options are actually available.
"The vast majority of people we speak with, including the representatives of local authorities that are in charge of commissioning care in the community, are not aware that one-to-one care can be provided in the comfort of a person's home by a highly skilled and fully trained live-in carer.
"Those who know about the live-in care option, wrongly assume that the cost is significantly higher than paying for residential care.
"This is simply incorrect - the cost of live-in care is similar, and often lower, than the cost of a nursing bed within a care home.
"In Germany for example we have been able to support nearly 3,300 older and vulnerable people, all of whom have been able to self-isolate with their carers, significantly lowering the potential exposure to the virus and the risk of infection.
"Once we became aware of this new contagious infection at the beginning of the year, we brought in additional safety measures including rigorous training for the carers, regular health checks, provision of adequate PPE, and sterilised private door-to-door transport for the staff on their way to the clients.
"Consequently, only 0.1% of our clients in Germany tested positive for Covid-19, and there have been no cases reported in the UK.
"In the UK, care homes are seen as the default care option and often the only solution for people who require around the clock assistance in their daily lives. There are currently around 18,000 care homes in the UK serving approximately 420,000 residents.
"We believe it's time for an urgent and transparent public debate about care options for older and vulnerable people in Northern Ireland."
