“In Lanzarote everything is fine, very good. Their centers received congratulations”. That is what they have responded from the Common Deputy to La Voz, clarifying that the nursing homes on the island are outside the scandal that has erupted this week in the Canary Islands, following the publication of the latest report from this body.
The document, based on visits made to 25 senior centers in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote and La Palma in 2019, warns of serious deficiencies detected, although without specifying in which centers this situation was found.
Among other things, the report detailed that there were outbreaks of scabies in two residences, as well as bedbugs in the mattresses of the rooms, bathrooms “with obvious signs of dirt”, broken furniture, rusty rehabilitation material, cockroaches and even rats in kitchens.
“It is indescribable the shock produced by finding this lack of hygiene and healthiness in the centers, without being detected by the administrations in charge of inspecting and ensuring the operation of resources for the elderly, and, in turn, without being revealed by family members or other people who access the facilities. We appeal to the social responsibility of working for a minimum of well-being for the elderly”, warned the report, which was concluded and sent to the Parliament of the Canary Islands months ago, but had not yet seen the light.
Now, the document will finally be debated in the Regional Chamber, although the Common Deputy in the Canary Islands has confirmed that those cases denounced by the document were not detected in Lanzarote. “At no time have we wanted to generalize and the report makes it very clear. Of 25 centers visited, deficiencies have been found in 12 and the rest perfectly met all the requirements”, they have clarified to La Voz, pointing out that the report does not detail the names of the centers where these deficiencies were detected “for privacy”.
Four centers visited on the island
The assistant of the Common Deputy in the Canary Islands, Milagros Fuentes, has even highlighted how “committed” the staff of the Lanzarote centers are, and also that it is the only island where periodic inspection visits are carried out, unlike what happens with the rest. "They are pioneers", Fuentes emphasizes.
In the case of Lanzarote, they went to five centers and finally visited four during the preparation of the report, whose field work was carried out before the pandemic began. Specifically, they were in the San Roque nursing home, in Amavir Tías, in Las Cabreras and in the Insular Hospital.
Regarding the inspection carried out on residences in the Canary Islands by the administration, the report warns that “in a generalized way, the centers do not remember the last visit of the Inspection Service of the Vice-Ministry of Social Rights”, with the exception of two in La Palma. However, regarding Lanzarote, it adds that they do “refer to periodic visits, with continuous and complementary work”, and that “there are also stable coordination mechanisms with the Assisted Residence attached to the Insular Hospital, integrated into the Ministry of Health”.
Among the many issues raised by the report, it also questions the restraint protocol that is still used in almost all centers in the archipelago. “In the Canary Islands, unlike other communities, there is no regulation on the use of restraints, there is not even a consensus protocol for procedure”, it warns, recalling that “the use of restraint elements in the care and attention of people has the obligation to preserve the fundamental rights of freedom, the right to autonomy, as well as respect for human dignity”.
In this case, these systems are also used in almost all nursing homes on the island. “The only center with accreditation from the Spanish Confederation of Senior Citizens Organizations (CEOMA) as a restraint-free center is Amavir Tías de Lanzarote”, the report states, which adds that, “even so, the protocol for action in the event of behavioral disorders and possible aggressions includes the use of pharmacological sedation”.
