Thirteen months ago, the Ministry of Social Rights and the autonomous communities signed a new model of residences for the elderly and dependent people. The news went slightly unnoticed, as usually happens with social issues, always at the tail of political bickering, despite the fact that the change that was reflected in that agreement (the Accreditation and Quality of Centers and Services of the System for Autonomy and Attention to Dependency, which updated the 2008) means giving dignified treatment, with everything that that word includes, to people who live in residences.
This agreement tries to put an end to crowded centers, without privacy, in which people lose their identity and are treated like children. The new model approved by the communities (with only ten votes in favor, and nine against, including Catalonia and the Basque Country for reasons of jurisdiction) focuses first and foremost on people and their rights, which are maintained throughout life, and in turning those places into a true home.
The text includes a series of measures, including the limitation to 75, 90 or 120 places depending on the location of the center (new residences). These limits will not apply to those that are already built. Life in the new residential centers will be organized in small living units, with a maximum of 15 people. These will have a living room, dining room and a space for preparing meals and will have free connection and devices for internet access, both in common and private spaces. Come on, like apartments within the residences.
The residences already built will have a term to reconvert the centers until December 31, 2029, something that was harshly criticized by the employers of private centers.
It has been shown that the physical space and environments have a great influence on the well-being and health of those who inhabit them, and for this reason the people who make up each coexistence unit will participate in the personalization and decoration of their spaces and the arrangement of furniture. .
Respect for privacy involves having a space for each resident. The agreement establishes 65% of rooms for individual use in the public squares of the newly built centers and, in addition, all rooms will have access to an adapted bathroom. The families and the resident will participate in the decoration of the room.
In addition, it is established that within a period of two years, care plans free of restraints and coercion in day and residential centers must be fully implemented. According to Social Services, physical, mechanical, chemical or pharmacological restraints do not cure, they do not help with a diagnosis, they are not therapeutic or an ethical intervention model, they reduce people’s capacity and are the cause of serious complications on both a physical level (lacerations, tears, strangulation, pain, bruising, increased risk of pressure sores, atrophy, etc.) and psychological (social isolation, loss of dignity, humiliation, helplessness, increased cognitive decline, depression and delirium).
To put an end to restraints and treat residents with dignity, the number of professionals, currently underfunded, must be increased. The ministry and the communities agreed to an improvement in the ratios of workers per person with disabilities: in general terms, in joint direct care residential centers it will gradually increase from 0.39 in December 2023 to 0.51 in December 2029 in older people, and from 0.50 to 0.58 in people with disabilities.
