"Nightclubs will open and I won't be able to see my grandmother in her car home"

BarcelonaWhat good is it that 96.8% of nursing home users are already immunized if they still live "in prisons", while outside the vaccine coverage is lower and there are few restrictions in force? This is what is asked by the new platform that brings together family member organisations and that hopes to end a visiting regime that gives the last word to nursing homes and forces to make appointments.

Víctor Echaniz, from the Els Estels Silenciats platform, points out the "incongruence" of opening nightclubs and that, on the contrary, the "limitations" for visits are maintained. "Tourists can come and I can't see my grandmother when it's good for me", he complains. The entity has made a survey on the opening of the centers to which about 150 people have responded and which concludes that about 70% of care homes allow fewer than three visits or weekly departures. "The problem is that there are protocols, but in the end are those that decide are not controlled or supervised by the administration", he complains.

In this sense, the platform reproaches the centers that impose "multiple impediments to the meetings of relatives", and affirms that the "inaction" of the administration turns care homes into "bunkers of impossible access" and allows for the abuses that are produced against the users and force them to live in "terrible conditions of life".

In May, the Department of Health published the latest update of the protocol for care homes in which it advises for the return to normal pre-pandemic life, always keeping the basic hygiene and safety measures. For the visits it establishes that they should be made by appointment to facilitate that the center can have enough staff to monitor compliance with the anticovid rules. The entries in the rooms are limited only for residents who can not get up and only one visitor is allowed at a time.

From the sector, employers have always defended the intention to open care homes as much as possible, without endangering the health of residents, and ensure that the vast majority of family members accept the rules.

Caution for the most vulnerable

Vicente Rodríguez, member of the Research Group on Aging of the CSIC, despite admitting "the hypocrisy of opening hotels and not care homes", also justifies that the general population is still under restrictions that limit their movements, so both the public administration and the directors of these centers want to cover themselves to avoid not only outbreaks and increased mortality, but also to avoid the collapse of the health system. "Faced with a situation of stress, the administration has the power to control the circumstances", stresses the specialist, who also recalls that, despite the high coverage of the vaccine, the elderly residents are part of the most vulnerable segment and have suffered the most and we must be waiting to see how the delta variant, known as the Indian variant, will behave.

Amnesty International, which in a very critical report spoke of abuse, mistreatment and violation of rights in nursing homes during the first months of the pandemic, has published seven tips to avoid a repetition of the situation experienced: increase staffing, more investment, compliance with the visiting regime and participation of relatives and residents in decision-making.