The socialist group of the Cabildo denounces that the institution knew about the serious deficiencies in the food provided to the residents in the Amavir Tías residence and, "despite that knowledge, has allowed time to pass without adopting measures to correct the situation".
According to the spokesperson for the Socialist Group, Ariagona González, these deficiencies have affected both the quality and the quantity of the food: "One must add to the complaints about the quality of the food the insufficiency of the portions which, on occasion, not being enough for all residents, had to be shared".
According to what the Socialist Party has been able to ascertain, the concessionaire of the residence itself had expressed its complaints to the catering company hired to supply food to the residents, recognizing, furthermore, that the lack of sufficient portions is due to the system known as "double menu".
The double menu system was implemented to give resident people the possibility to choose between two options, but in practice it has meant having to share in some cases portions among residents, due to the fact that these opted mostly for one of the menus, having to distribute the same among the applicants.
"It is intolerable that the rigidity of the system ends up causing residents to receive insufficient rations when the solution is clear: either a prudential margin is calculated for these cases or the double menu system is eliminated, but in no case can rations be reduced", González highlighted.
"The nutrition of our elderly cannot be treated as a mere logistics problem"
For the socialist councilor, "the feeding of our elderly cannot be treated as a mere logistics problem, in which portions are reduced to make services fit. The feeding of our elderly is a matter of dignity, well-being, and care".
The socialist spokesperson has recalled that this new situation adds to the facts recently denounced by the PSOE in relation to the lack of healthcare personnel and the administration of medication by unqualified personnel, which ended up causing adverse effects in residents.
In this regard, González has warned that "we are facing a chain of negligences that evidence a lack of control and supervision absolutely unacceptable on the part of the government of Oswaldo Betancort and Marciano Acuña."
“The most serious thing is that the Cabildo knew it. It had information about what was happening and, even so, it did not act. That inaction has direct consequences on the life and well-being of the resident people”," has affirmed.
The management of Oswaldo Betancort's government, with Marciano Acuña at the head of the area, is drawing a deeply worrying picture in the care of our elderly.
"It is not about isolated facts, but about a way of governing that transmits inattention, lack of planning and an alarming loss of sensitivity towards those who most need protection", Ariagona González has stated, pointing out that while complaints about deficiencies in residences accumulate, "the door is opened to decisions that jeopardize the island's socio-health model, such as the threat to the Hospital Insular, a historical reference in medium and long-stay care".
The PSOE of Lanzarote demands that the Cabildo give immediate public explanations, that it clarify since when it had knowledge of these deficiencies and what measures it adopted, or failed to adopt, given a situation that directly affects the health of residents.
Likewise, the socialists demand the exhaustive review of the fulfillment of the contract by the managing company and the adoption of urgent measures that guarantee adequate nutrition and dignified conditions in all socio-health centers of the island.
“Caring for our elders cannot depend on improvisation or neglect. The responsibility of the Cabildo is to guarantee safe, dignified, and quality care, and today we are seeing that it is not being fulfilled,” Ariagona González concluded.
