Now that the Ministry of Health has decided to only recommend the wearing of masks in the residences of symptomatic people, what is the actual situation in these centers?
«Not many coronavirus infections occur in residences. On the other hand, the flu is wreaking havoc, with more cases of COVID-19 both in nursing homes and in the general population. The incidence rate is very high, but no more cases are recorded than in other years. That said, this is a very specific topic. Having saved the shielding of previous years, we are on the same line as 2019, 2018 and 2017,” said Ignacio Fernández-Cid, president of the Federation of Dependent Businesses (FED).
Regarding vaccination, «residents A very large part 90% have received the COVID vaccine and 95% have received the flu vaccine», he stressed that this is a key factor because this is a population at risk.
However, the situation is very different for nursing home workers. «accommodation staff I’ll tell you he’s tired of vaccines if he reaches 30% or around this numbernot just one of them,” he said.
The number of vaccinations for professionals has been declining over time since the start of the pandemic. So it’s worth remembering that between 4% and 8% of staff in private seniors’ homes were not vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2022 (data for public homes is unknown).
Fernandez-Sid said that in addition to fatigue, one of the reasons for the decline in vaccines is “the fear of negative effects, and some people lashing out at us saying they are extremely dangerous and who knows their effects. … This fear makes” As a matter of conscience and common sense, one would assume that employees would be vaccinated to protect the elderly, so vaccination rates are very low.”
This figure (30%) “increases in homes where residents and staff are being vaccinated in the same centre, as this makes it easier for staff to do so. But in most centres, this is not the case,” he explained.
about This department needs improvementThe president of the Union of Dependent Businesses made it clear that regarding infections and masks, “their thing is recommendation, because forcing the centers does not make sense for the centres.” Now, “it would be great if these centers provide us with the necessary materials to deal with this problem , for example Test to understand what we are facing Because we are not a health center. When Covid-19 broke out, some boroughs offered something and others did not. This unique reality continues to occur today, as coronavirus testing is carried out in some areas, “such as Madrid”.
As is the case with SNS, “In our field Our staffing gap is huge. We need active employment policies. We need professionals, including gerontologists and nurses, the need for the latter is urgent, there is also a shortage of doctors, physiotherapists…».If we look at the details of professionals, the reality is that “if there are not enough professionals, we will have to Create hundreds more places in departments» In order to launch the following enhanced batches.
Additionally, Fernandez-Sid pointed out the pain point of how long it will take to complete. Title homology.we must speed up It cannot take two or three years because of the lack of professionals we have, and because if you don’t do that you condemn these professionals to do unworthy work because they are trained to be nurses, doctors, and nothing else.
As for the situation in other countries, Fernandez-Sid doesn’t understand how German nurse comes to FF And not through a college degree. “If it works there, why not here? While it’s true that nurses in Spain are very well trained, it’s also true that New profile needed, Nursing Assistant or any consideration,” he said.
He gave an example of why when a man asks a nurse to come to his home for treatment, the nurse goes to the husband and says, “Do you see me? Well, you do this this week, let’s talk on Friday, you Send me a picture and we’ll see if I have to come back. That said, Untrained family members can perform these treatments and, So why aren’t older cultural figures allowed to do the same?? You have to be proactive and look for solutions, and while it is true that you may come into conflict with professional associations, the reality is that no one is trying to replace you and you have to look for solutions,” concludes the dependency expert. But that’s not the case. In asking for price indexation Before. In public bidding (prices are not updated to CPI).