The Minister of Social Welfare of the Cabildo, Isabel Martín, has acknowledged the work overload to which the workers of the San Roque de Tinajo nursing home, which is managed by the company Clece, are subjected, and has announced that in the coming days the management of the center will be put out to tender again as a solution.
"I understand that they have a brutal work pressure, which is not from yesterday or the day before yesterday, but for some time, and that with the Covid has deepened," said Martín on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero, where she said that she hopes that "in ten days" the new tender will be published.
According to the Minister, the problems in the Tinajo nursing home are due to the fact that the level of dependence of the users has been increasing "of the same, while the contract with the awarding company has not been modified.
"When I arrived, I found that the relations with the Autonomous Government were quite limited to the point that the requirement, and when I speak of the requirement I speak of the money that is paid per place by the Government of the Canary Islands, corresponded to people who do not have the level of dependency today. Let me explain, maybe a person who entered 15 years ago, had a low level of requirement and that meant money per place, but as the years go by, that person needs more care, more help and more staff and the money per place goes up, and that has not moved over twelve years," he said.
Thus, she has stated that since the contract with Clece expired in March, what has been done is to prepare a new specification "already with the requirement and the needs to accommodate the people who are there." "And I speak of the requirement of human resources and other requirements that are needed, such as the figure of a psychologist, a doctor, and also with reasonable working hours," added the Minister of Social Welfare.
Meanwhile, according to her, a six-month extension has been signed with the current awarding company, although Isabel Martín hopes that "in less than three months" the new tender will be awarded.
The reform of the building will also be put out to tender
In addition to tendering the management of the residence, the Minister of Social Welfare has also announced that the Cabildo is "about" to launch another tender for the reform of "the entire building", with FDCAN funds. "Because it has been aging and here over the years no one has put anything."
However, she insisted that the "angular axis" of the existing shortcomings in the Tinajo nursing home come "from the increase in the requirement of users, because they are very dependent now and were not before."
"And then, remember that in the years 2012-2013, the priority in the specifications was economization, economic stability, budgetary, sustainability. So, many of these companies won tenders on the basis of very tough economic specifications from the point of view of competitiveness. Even, the administration yielded at that time to benefits above the economic values and, allow me to say so, of the economic auction. In the end, the importance given to the price-place was so great that we forgot that the price is an important part. but it is not the only thing that delimits the care of a person," she concluded.