After the drama experienced in nursing homes during the pandemic and the promises, from the political sphere, of improvements in care for these elderly people, these nursing homes are now in the news again due to cuts (as stated from different fronts in the sector) in the supply of diapers.
Complaints that from the Social Rights and Health departments are stated to reflect the entire reality. So the versions differ depending on the side. What no one denies – that is written – is that the rules have changed (this affects both nursing home users and the population in general) with a limitation per person and day of those absorbents dispensed with a health card.
The current protocol – based on economic criteria – sets limits on the cost of diapers per user: four for the day and one for the night. “This means you put on a diaper at bedtime and… until the next morning. The residents are shitting and pissing for hours, just as they are also, with this limitation, during the day,” denounces the president of the Coordinadora 5 1 family association, María José Carcelén.
If this amount is exceeded, the doctor assigned to the residence must justify the extension of orders. And there would be the mother of the problem, because in some centers the doctors do not object if you have to request more diapers, but in others they are not so “generous, says the director of a nursing home, as these toilets adhere to what is established by the norm. .
The Catalan Professional Association of Directors/res of Dependency Care Centers and Services (ASCAD) sent a letter to the Minister of Social Rights, Carles Campuzano, a few days ago. A harsh missive signed by its president, Andrés Rueda, in which it is affirmed that the cutting of diapers is the worst of the abuses that can be inflicted on the elderly, because it threatens “their dignity”.
The residence directors are also very graphic when recounting the new reality. “In situations of terminal processes with lack of physiological response of people, the appearance of bedsores is a very serious problem in our daily practice and this problem is highly conditioned in its triggering or complications due to double incontinence.” Coordinator 5 1 states that an increase in urine infections and sores in residents has already been detected due to the limitation of diapers.
The response of Drets Socials and Salut to these complaints? From the first Department it is recognized that the alerts now go off “if more than four diapers are prescribed for the day and more than one for the night.” But they are “merely informative notices,” it is emphasized. All of this responds “to current recommendations and the financing conditions of these products,” say Drets Socials sources, who specify that the maximum number of diapers “may be exceeded” if the doctor who makes the request considers it “necessary.” And they conclude: “Therefore, there is no limitation on the number of absorbents” that may be needed in residences.
From the Department of Health, the answer is similar. “The electronic prescription system informs about financing conditions and current recommendations, but does not limit the volume of diapers prescribed. So there has been no variation or limitation in the use of these absorbents.”
In the Union of Small and Medium Residences (Upimir) of Catalonia, which has also joined this complaint, they are clear: the reasons for these cuts “are none other than economic and savings.”
