On the agenda: long-term care
64% of the Romanian population over 65 years old with severe care needs lives at home, and only 4% of them has access to professional care services. In comparison, the European average of the 65+ population with major care needs who lives at home, is only 37%, and 24% of them benefits from professional care services. (Long Term Care Report, European Commission, 2021)
In Miercurea Ciuc, in between the 12th-15th of June, a group of experts met again for discussing long-term care in the framework of Caritas Europa. Representatives from nine European countries spent three days debating issues related to the exponential growth in the need for long-term care, linked to the dramatic shortage of care workers, as well as the huge discrepancies in between the long-term care delivery systems in Europe.
Participants reviewed the current situation and perspectives of their countries, visited various assistance and care services developed and offered by Caritas in Harghita county, which was followed by a symposium attended by public policy experts from the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity, the Ministry of Health, and social and medical service providers from Romania.
Caritas Europa, the umbrella organization that brings together all of the Caritas organizations from 46 European countries, is a strategic partner of the European Commission on social policies. In this context, he participated in the process of preparing the strategy of the European Commission on the topic of long-term care, preparing his recommendations related to the strategy for the Council of Europe. Also in this context, Caritas Europa will launch on the 26th of June in Brussels, in the presence of Mr. Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Caritas’ specialized report on long-term care.
The participants of the symposium discussed the 15 recommendations, of which the following aspects were prioritized and debated in detail:
- The need for an individualized approach, person-centered, and guaranteeing the right to care for each person, regardless their financial and economical situation.
- Redefining long-term care with the reorientation from the market dimension to the service of general interest.
- The effects and imbalances due to massive labor migration and mobility, particularly in the care sector, from poor countries to rich countries in Europe.
- The importance of European cooperation and dialogue on this topic, in order to counter the major discrepancies in between the care systems of different European countries, as well as in between the rural and urban areas.
- The need for the active and specific support of the Member States in the development of their own systems for ensuring quality long-term care, accessible to all.
In the native context, the group of experts is looking forward to how national governments will implement the national action plans related to the strategy communicated in September 2022 by the European Commission on this topic.
“We all must realize that we are facing a major crisis in care across Europe. It depends on our individual and collective maturity whether we succeed in finding a responsible approach and viable solutions to preserve human dignity under these conditions.” – said Dr. MÁRTON András, director of Caritas Alba Iulia, host organization, member of Fair Care and Mobility Task Force Caritas Europa.
