The Association of Relatives of Alzheimer's Patients of Lanzarote (AFA) has defended its management at the head of the residences of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, assuring that the service has been done "with the required liquidity and solvency"
In a statement, the association responds to the statements of the Minister of Social Welfare, Isabel Martín, in reference to the change of the company that manages the residences, and that from February it will be the company Clece who will do it after being awarded the management. In this sense, from AFA they criticize that the counselor said that there would be “a greater professionalization of the service”, and point out that “throughout the association's trajectory, there have always been qualified and specialized professionals”.
They also explain that they have “53 professionals” in the different areas of specialization in the residences. “90% of the staff is permanent and also complies with the regulations for hiring personnel with disabilities. All contracted personnel are governed by the VII State Framework Agreement for Care Services for Dependent Persons and Development of the Promotion of Personal Autonomy”.
In addition, they point out that the management of these services is justified to the administration “through monthly invoices that correspond to the occupation of users, whose guidelines are established by the Cabildo”. These invoices “are sent first to the Social Welfare area for their approval. After said visa, they are returned to us and registered through the Cabildo's billing registry,” explains AFA.
On the other hand, they point out that “the Ministry of Social Welfare has been informed about the changes in the profile of the users of the Residence”. “Initially this was created for users with low requirements but over time it has become a residence for users with high requirements, with the needs they require”, they add.
AFA defends that the service it has offered has been done "with the required liquidity and solvency"
AFA states that “it cannot be understood” that the counselor Isabel Martín said that the association “cannot economically manage the service”, when during the last seven years, in the case of the residence, “it has been doing so with the required liquidity and solvency”.
“At no time has AFA Lanzarote positioned itself against the established legality nor has it refused a tender and award of a worthy service, although it is true that there are other alternatives and procedures that the law also protects, with other associations both nationally and regionally in the same situation and with which there has been another type of consideration with them, carrying out agreements and social regulations”, they refer.
“In 2020 we suffered the pandemic caused by COVID19, which meant an increase in the expenses of managing the resources derived from the extra hiring of personnel and sanitary material”, and from AFA they point out that “it was not paid at any time by the Administration".
“With this we mean that AFA Lanzarote has received a total of 1,103,174.90 euros during 2021 for the management of the two day centers and the residence. However, throughout next year 2022 the same service will be managed for a year for an amount of 2,000,407.62 euros, observing a difference of 897,232.72 euros”, they clarify.
“Currently the association receives 71.45 euros cost per place/day per user from the Administration”
AFA criticizes that the Minister of Welfare declared that “she does not know the cost per place per day”, it seems “at least unusual, because in addition to corroborating it and signing it monthly after the invoices presented by this association, in the same specification of the tender the cost per place/day for residence users is confirmed, being 131.95 euros”. “Currently the association receives 71.45 euros cost per place/day per user from the administration”, they point out.
Finally, from AFA they do not consider the required economic solvency to be equitable “since, as is known, in annex V of the tender three options of both economic and financial solvency were offered”. “They only availed themselves of one option of the three, which was to have an annual business volume of more than two and a half million euros, so it has been materially impossible to opt for this tender because this association does not handle that amount of annual money”.