Dependency care is the great pending issue in a country that does not stop repeating that the elderly must be protected (74% of dependents are over 65 years old) and that, however, has become accustomed to Dependency Law is not complied with. In 2023 (December 2022 to November 2023), every 13 minutes a person died without receiving the care they needed. 111 every day. 40,447 a year.
“A reality that is embarrassing and that hides a path full of suffering. We cannot allow this because it is very likely that we or one of us will require this attention sooner rather than later,” says Jose Manuel Ramírez, spokesperson for the State Association of Directors and Social Services Managers.
These people who died without care were part of the almost 300,000 who make up the eternal waiting lists (179,244 who have been assessed and are awaiting service and 117,181 who are pending assessment by the relevant teams). Around 46.2% of people who, despite having the right recognized, do not receive it (about 82,817) are dependents with Grades III or II, that is, they have extensive and continuous support needs.
The waiting list has been reduced by 36,671 people compared to 2022, thanks largely to the shock plan that the autonomous communities and the Ministry of Social Rights established two years ago, a shock plan accompanied by money from the Administration general State (more than 4,000 million euros), but which more than half of the communities have used to reduce their contribution. The part that the central government now provides already represents 40% of the cost of the dependency compared to 20% three years ago. The communities, the remaining 60%. The Government’s objective is to increase to 50%.
This is indicated by the XXIV Dependency Observatory prepared by the State Association of Directors and Managers of Social Services, presented this morning and which points out the bureaucratic labyrinth (in addition to the reduction of the contribution of some communities) is behind this “abandonment” of the most vulnerable.
And the average processing time for a file is 324 days, although in four communities it takes more than 12 months (Canary Islands, Andalusia, Murcia and Galicia). Only five territories are below or close to the six months established by the Law as the deadline for this processing: the communities of the Basque Country, Castilla y León, Navarra, Cantabria and Ceuta. The majority of applicants who died waiting for a service that the Law recognizes them were over 80 years old.
But what happens to the 1.4 million people who receive care through the dependency service? Well, they mostly receive a “low cost” service.
According to the observatory, financial benefits for family care have an average monthly amount of 240.17 euros (currently received by 558,234 people); An amount that ranges between 171 euros for the mildest dependents (grade I) and 369, for the most severe.
And those who go to a residence? The financial benefits linked to the acquisition of a service vary greatly depending on it, but are insufficient. Suffice it to say that the benefit linked to paying for a residential care place ranges around 516.2-575.7 euros for the most seriously dependent. “The difference between this amount and the price actually paid by the person in a residence (which will easily triple that amount) constitutes a second co-payment or invisible co-payment,” they denounce this entity.
And home help? Judge: Home Help presents average hourly intensities of 33.8 hours per month from Monday to Friday; by degree of dependency, it ranges from 15.8 hours for the mildest to 38 hours/month for Grade II. and 57.9h/month for Grade III. “That is, barely two and a half hours a day from Monday to Friday for the latter, which is clearly insufficient if we understand that they are people who need support permanently,” the report states.
