PD – TRENTINO * ELDERLY AGE AND NON SELF-SUFFICIENCY: «THE SITUATION IS UNSUSTAINABLE, LET’S GIVE CONCRETE ANSWERS IMMEDIATELY»

4.20pm – Friday 19 April 2024

(The following text is taken entirely from the press note sent to the Opinion Agency) –

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“Old age and lack of self-sufficiency, the situation is unsustainable. Let’s give concrete answers immediately, the discussions will take place later.” Healthcare is in bad shape and people are increasingly forced to pay for treatment, but the provincial councilor and the council say that everything is fine; in his tour of all the hospitals in the province Tonina listened, made announcements, made commitments, but gave no response to the needs that were clearly presented to him.

Now he does the same thing with RSAs: on his tour of the facilities he listens, takes notes, but does not offer any feedback on the needs that the world of retirement homes has been highlighting for some time. For years the RSA system has been in serious crisis, as research and studies clearly demonstrate, but the Councilor continues not to deal with reality and says he needs to understand before making decisions and that he will consult with the technicians before to convene a table in June.

For months now, all those involved in the elderly and non-self-sufficiency – the professional orders, the trade unions, the UPIPA, the family associations, the Health Council – have launched their cry of alarm, stating that the situation is now unsustainable and that, as it is now, the RSA system no longer holds up, but so far the Councilor’s only response has been that we need to invest in prevention and home care. Obviously we all agree, but proposals and investments are needed now and not in the distant future.

There is a lack of answers first and foremost with regards to the staff: what do you expect from the healthcare contract also being applied to RSAs? It doesn’t take much, just a bit of will to give the staff what they deserve given the sacrifices they have been making for years.

What do you expect to encourage with adequate resources a reorganization of the healthcare system and RSAs that will enable them to better respond to the increasingly pressing needs emerging from the territories and that is able to recognize remuneration and prestige for such delicate and precious professions?

A further alarm comes from the increasingly intense growth of dementia, a phenomenon which is certainly not a surprise, given that it has been forcefully denounced for years: in this field too, concrete and rapid responses are needed, not vague commitments to study demagogic future projects . For example, we could immediately increase the number of beds in specialized centers for dementia with behavioral disorders, as well as the capacity of day centers for dementia in order to immediately provide concrete answers to families in difficulty.

These are things that can be done immediately, requested and supported by all those who deal with non-self-sufficiency. Let’s give these concrete signals and then we can also set up the tables, which unions and family associations have been asking for for some time.

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The Health commission of the Trentino PD