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A nursing home for seniors more and more often becomes the only option for ensuring a decent and safe old age for loved ones. Polish law provides that a single person who requires assistance due to age or illness is en titled to care services. Demographic forecasts show that there will be more such people. What can they count on from social care institutions, and what does the private medical services market provide them with? How to choose a nursing home for seniors?

Contents:

  1. Nursing home for seniors - nursing homes
  2. Nursing home for seniors - how to choose?
  3. Nursing home for seniors - private centers
  4. Nursing home for seniors - public or private?
  5. Nursing home for seniors - alternatives

The nursing home for seniors will be an increasingly frequented institution over the years. Demographers forecast that in 2030 more than half of the farms will be run by people over 65. Already today, they are singles seniors on their own, deprived of the support of their immediate family. This phenomenon will increase, because young people leave their native lands in large numbers in search of work, which makes it difficult to take care of their elderly parents.

The need for professional care for seniors who can no longer function independently is visible in the statistics: the overall number of elderly people referred to nursing homes has increased nationwide by about 25% in five years.

In 2011-2014, municipal spending on the maintenance of nursing homes increased in Poland from PLN 680 million to over PLN 1 billion. Due to the constantly growing needs, the popularity of private care facilities is also increasing. They are used by 14 thousand. with 80 thousand seniors covered by round-the-clock care. In the near future, approx. 7% of Polish seniors will use nursing homes.

Nursing home for seniors - nursing homes

These are institutions financed by local governments. They are intended for people who are he althy enough that it is not necessary to refer them to specialized medical facilities. Nursing homes ensure that basic living needs are met: place of residence, food, clothes, as well as cleaning and care. They provide help in dealing with personal matters, take care of improving the efficiency and activation of residents through occupational therapy, cultural activitiesetc.

According to the NIK report published in spring 2016, there is no major problem with finding a place in nursing homes - 90% of applicants received it. A longer waiting period (up to several months) can only be expected in larger cities. On the other hand, there is a lack of places in care and treatment facilities (ZOL) for people who require specialist medical care. The interest in them is greater than in places in Nursing Home, but this is not due to the poor he alth of Polish seniors, but due to the difference in funding.

Bills for care in care and treatment institutions are almost entirely covered by the National He alth Fund, and in nursing homes - the inmate, his family and the commune (the fee for the stay is charged depending on the income in the family, usually does not exceed 70% of the inmate's income - the rest is paid by the commune). Consequently, for financial reasons, the family often tries to place a loved one in the ZOL, not in a nursing home. This solution is also beneficial for municipalities, which in this case do not bear any costs.

Spending on social care for the elderly in Poland (0.25% of GDP) is lower than in other countries of the European Union. For example, in Sweden they amount to 2.7% of GDP, in Norway 1.8% of GDP. The average for the EU countries is around 0.5% of GDP

Worth knowing

Nursing home for seniors - how to choose?

Let it be as close to your place of residence as possible. Check on the website of the voivodeship office whether it is entered in the official register. This is a guarantee that the facility meets the requirements set out in the regulation of the Minister of Social Policy of 2005 regarding architectural standards, equipment and staff of the facility, and is also subject to inspections. Be sure to check the conditions on site. Take a look in the bathroom, in the canteen, ask about the menu and the possibility of individually adjusting the diet, check if the house has an elevator for transporting people on wheelchairs and stretchers. Ask how large the staff is, whether the home provides round-the-clock care of qualified nurses, how often the doctor comes, whether the home cooperates with a nearby clinic, what happens when an appointment with a specialist or hospital care is needed.

Ask about visiting hours - it is good for the facility when it is possible around the clock at any time. If you live far away, check if it will be possible to contact you via the Internet (e.g. Skype).

Find out, for example, whether it is possible to arrange a room with your own equipment, whether a priest comes to the house, whether a resident can have his beloved dog or cat with him. First of all, read the contract carefully.

The unacceptable provisions are: reserving the right to terminate the contract immediately in the event of untimely payment of the fees for care; the principle that the reason for the immediate termination of the contract may be the deterioration of the he alth and mental condition of the charge; as well as avoiding the institution's responsibility for money and valuables kept in the nursing home by the resident.

Nursing home for seniors - private centers

According to a report by the research company PMR, over the next six years the private he althcare market will grow at a rate of approx. 7% annually; in 2022, its value may reach PLN 45.9 billion. This is not surprising - private medical services, responding to the growing demand, filled the gap created by the ailing public he alth service. This also applies to nursing homes - in 2011-2014 the number of private institutions increased from 196 to 358.

Interestingly, this market segment attracts more and more interest from developers, pension funds and brokerage houses; due to the development prospects, it is considered a solid investment that can generate a rate of return in the form of even double-digit profits.

Worth knowing

A stay in a private nursing home is at least 2-3 thousand. PLN (a place in a single room costs from PLN 3.5 thousand and up). A stay in a private facility may be cheaper if it has a contract with the National He alth Fund - then it usually receives 70% of the patient's pension, as in a public Nursing Home.

Usually you have to pay extra for diaper pants, bandages, gloves, gauze pads, body oil, medications - it can cost even PLN 200-300. Additionally, individual classes with a physiotherapist (PLN 50 per hour), specialist dressings, specialist consultations (PLN 150-200) and additional tests or transport are payable.

Price is also influenced by the condition of the resident and the specific needs associated therewith; up to 6-7 thousand PLN a month you have to pay for the stay of a bedridden person who requires constant nursing care and rehabilitation. Additionally, the services of a beautician and hairdresser are payable. Luxurious retirement homes are also being built - they look more like spa centers or luxury hotels with a medical offer than retirement homes. Here the price is up to 15 thousand. PLN monthly

Nursing home for seniors - public or private?

If it is no longer a problem to place a senior in a state nursing home, why are private nursing homes enjoying increasing popularity? Firstly, because a private institution can admit a person in need almost immediately, no complicated administrative procedures are requiredjust like in public DPS.

The second reason may be … price competitiveness. Although private nursing homes have to meet certain standards, the requirements for them are lower than in public institutions. Non-public nursing homes do not have to apply, for example, statutory standards of employment and staff qualifications, so they can save on costs and provide services cheaper.

On the other hand, people with higher expectations and a we althier wallet can choose a private facility that offers more for more money: individually tailored diet, rehabilitation classes and activities that develop interests, if necessary, intensive medical care, Internet access, events cultural and integrative, the possibility of taking an animal with you.

Most of these nursing homes can arrange for a quick specialist consultation to help you skip the lines of the public he alth service. Some have specialized wards for people with mental disorders and dementia - places for such inmates are still lacking in public nursing homes.

Non-public ones also have greater possibilities of flexible adaptation to the needs of patients, including, for example, short-term stays (e.g. during the absence of a permanent caregiver or rehabilitation after surgery).

Nursing home for seniors - alternatives

Research has shown that the most effective form of care for the elderly is community help - it does not require taking a senior out of the environment and conditions he is used to. For those who only need support in their daily life, social welfare centers offer services provided in their places of residence. They are four times cheaper than staying in a nursing home.

In 2014, nearly 89 thousand people used care services nationwide. people. The expenses for these benefits amounted to over PLN 385 million. This is - next to DPSs - the most common form of care for seniors provided by local governments.

Worth knowing

Keep in touch

Placing a loved one in a good retirement home often gives them a better chance of staying fit than family care. Nevertheless, moving from a familiar environment to a care facility is usually quite a difficult experience for an elderly person. They may be associated - at least at the beginning - with a loss of a sense of security, a feeling of being rooted out, or being lost.

It is worth preparing the senior by visiting the selected home with him, even several times if necessary, so that he can get used to the new surroundings. And during our stay, let's visit him as often as possible, participate in his life, meet his new friends, takeexcursions, celebrate birthdays and name days.

Let's try to ensure that the senior participates in important family events, so that he still has frequent contact with people who are important to him - relatives and friends. For an elderly person, the holidays spent together are extremely important - so let's try to take the senior home for this time

Alternatives to traditional nursing homes are also: day homes, sheltered flats and family nursing homes. However, local governments are not interested in developing these forms of support for seniors.

In 2011-2014, the number of day houses decreased from 201 to 194. These are support centers that provide seniors with care for several hours, including meals, and organize physical, artistic, educational activities, etc. Payment depends on on the amount of your income.

The idea of ​​protected flats is to create a living space with individually separated flats, where tenants live relatively independently and according to their own rhythm, but have the support of professional therapists, psychologists, educators and social workers.

According to statistics, they are granted sporadically - in Poland at the end of 2013 there were only 637 such apartments. There are only 13 family nursing homes in Poland, with 111 places in them. They provide round-the-clock care in almost home conditions. There may be 3 to 8 residents in such a home. They can be run by natural persons or public benefit organizations, e.g. foundations; the stay is financed partly by a resident, partly by the commune, which pays a certain amount for each resident.

Important

NIK warns that more and more care homes are being built, operating without the required permit. The operators bypass the legal regulations and register them as an economic activity - e.g. as a guesthouse or rental of short-term accommodation. Thus, these facilities are not entered in the register in the voivodeship office as 24-hour care centers, therefore they are not subject to control that the voivode is obliged to exercise in such facilities.

"Zdrowie" monthly

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Category:

Geriatrics