The ‘conseller’ of Drets Socials, Carles Campuzano, advances in an interview in EL PERIÓDICO some changes in Catalan nursing homes
The residential health care has been a real horse of battle of directors, workers and owners of Catalan nursing homes against all administrations. A reality that the coronavirus pandemic ended up making evident: the elderly in nursing homes are the most vulnerable in the system, but at the same time, those who have access to fewer health resources. The lack of medical personnel, especially nurses, it only makes the problem worse. Several experts in the sector have recognized this newspaper that the problem ends up collapsing emergency health centers, especially hospitals.
Now the new Minister of Rights Socials, Carles Campuzanohas announced in a interview with THE NEWSPAPER that the primary care centers (CAP) will be in charge of the health care of the users of the Catalan residences. A measure that the sector considered urgent and essential.
The Generalitat has been working for some time on how social and health care should be integrated in Catalonia. Drets Socials and Salut are two departments that work in a stagnant way, but that share realities, patients and, in some cases, duplicate resources or lack hands. In 2008, the Territorial Programming Plan for Specialized and Home Social Care Resources was born. Later they created the Health Social Integration Plan, which later became the Interdepartmental Plan for Social and Health Care and Interaction (PIAISS).
This 2022 the Government has created a Integrated Social and Health Care Agency. And it is this agency that has already prepared the first conclusions, with specific measures to be applied, which the two ‘ministers’, Campuzano and Manel Balcells, will make public shortly.
Assume responsibilities
The ‘minister’ Campuzano has told EL PERIÓDICO that the outpatients they will be responsible for the health care of people who live in Catalan residences, whether they are people greater or people with disability. “We need Salut to assume part of his responsibility in the residential area,” the ‘conseller’ assumes. In fact, he explains that this is one of the conclusions drawn from the coronavirus tragedy in nursing homes. “The great weakness of covid was that our residences were not prepared to deal with a public health problem. That was exceptional, but we have needed to advance in this deployment for many years,” he explains.
Lack of health personnel
Today, the presence of primary care physicians depends on the will of doctors and is conditional on collapse living outpatient centers. The nursing home unions and the employers’ associations of the sector explained it to this newspaper. The presence of doctors and nurses in the centers is testimonial, firstly because of the low care ratios set forth in the law (already critical and which have been frozen for years), and secondly because these professionals they charge much less in residences compared to a health center. It must also be said that Catalonia is the first community in Spain to propose this new paradigm, a request also made by the Spanish Society of Gerontology.
Effect on hospitals
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Changes in care can have consequences on the hospital system. Experts have been pointing out for years that preventive and local medical care would avoid many emergency visits and admissions in Catalan hospitalsand can unlock many beds. The lack of health care means that residential centers end up going to hospital emergencies when the residents’ health problems worsen.
However, it should also be noted that this change is planned for the long term. In just 15 years, those over 65 will already be 25% of the population, and in 2050 octogenarians will exceed the barrier of 10% of Catalans. The care system, therefore, will have to face the fact that the population over 65 will already be 42% larger in 2035 than it is today. The lack of health care in nursing homes and the hospital collapse that it entails would be much greater as demographic aging progresses.