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Zagreb - The social welfare system is burdened by many problems, waiting lists for admission to retirement and nursing homes are too long, and conditions in some of those homes are below minimum standards, MPs warned during a debate on amendments to the Social Welfare Act on Thursday.
The problems have not been dealt with for years, the system is not transparent, it does not protect beneficiaries, does not care about their needs, and does not recognise their physical and mental state. People must not be held prisoner in homes, there must be a way for them to have time and space for a walk, said Silvano Hrelja of the Croatian Pensioners' Party (HSU).
Homeland Movement MP Davor Dretar said that retirement homes were overcrowded, that one had to wait for a place in a retirement home for six or seven years, that waiting lists were too long, that private homes often had more residents that they should and that safety conditions in them were insufficient. This year eight residents were killed in fires in two nursing homes, he said.
72,000 people waiting for a place in a retirement home
Speaking of legal amendments that are designed to ensure the reassignment of workers, equipment, and space in social welfare institutions in the current coronavirus pandemic, Reformists MP Natalija Martincevic warned that the system of retirement homes was "relatively neglected and obsolete". She believes that Croatia still does not have a clear strategy for long-term care for the elderly.
We have 45 county and three state retirement homes with around 11,000 residents but demand for accommodation is bigger, there are around 72,000 people on waiting lists, said Martincevic.
Most party groups, including those from the Opposition, supported the amendments, describing them as necessary in the current situation. However, they expressed doubts regarding regulation on the redistribution of working hours making it possible to work 12 hours a day for ten days, spending time for rest in the institution one works in, and having 10 days off.
We believe that it should be explicitly stated that the number of days off to which a worker is entitled should be equal to the number of days they have worked successively, said Damir Bakić of the green-left bloc, and his view was supported by the Social Democrats.
If that will facilitate work and make care more available, it should be supported, said Dragana Jeckov of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), noting that one should think about whether sending an assistant from one institution to work temporarily in another would yield the desired effect. We don't want this to be an exercise in futility, she said.
We will only be patching holes
Anka Mrak Taritaš of the Women's Group expressed satisfaction that redistribution of working hours would require the worker's consent and that the worker who refuses it would not suffer any consequences. She wondered how this would be done and why this type of work was not being considered as overtime.
"The weak link are people," she said, recalling that even before the coronavirus crisis the staff in retirement and nursing homes, including private ones, was insufficient. This redistribution scheme will only help patch holes, she said.
Nada Murganić of the ruling HDZ party recalled that redistribution of working hours was nothing new and that she did not believe it would cause any problems.