IMAGES: Sergio Betancort
The director of the nursing home "Sol de Otoño" has tried to defend himself after the report published by the Cuatro channel in which alleged abuses against the elderly were denounced. Adolfo Acuña has assured that what was broadcast by "Diario de" is "an outrage." However, he has acknowledged several facts, such as the insults that are heard in the video, although for him "they are jokes."
"Sometimes the workers start dancing salsa among themselves, they say one thing, they say another and then in these reports they come out as if they are true. The thing about 'cagona' (shitty) and so on, they sometimes say it as a joke. Here we joke a lot with the grandparents because they are girls who have been here for many years and they make jokes," he said.
Regarding the fact that some elderly people eat with a syringe, as broadcast in "Diario de", Adolfo Acuña has acknowledged it, but has assured that these syringes "are changed". "It's an outrage what the boy who denounced it said. Of course someone eats with a syringe, because otherwise they can't. But we don't just have one syringe," he explained. In addition, he also had to answer why the elderly are tied up, as seen in the television report. "They are not tied, they are held. You have to put a belt on them so they don't fall and they are approved. That is not tying up a grandfather, it is holding him and even the families ask you to do it so they don't fall," he defended.
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Adolfo Acuña has also pointed out that the elderly are given medication if they are "anxious to calm them down." "The doctor, who we do have and comes every week, says whether or not they need sedation and we give it to them following his guidelines. It is not a permanent medication or to leave them sedated. That is not drugging them, or leaving them asleep, as they tried to show on television. There are people who cannot stay awake all day, because they have dementia and are half asleep," he assured.
In addition, he has stated that in the "Sol de Otoño" residence there is no elderly person who always remains in bed. "We don't leave people in bed, we always take them for a walk, we don't have anyone in bed, no one sedated. It is a shame that the boy (for the complainant) says that because a man has an ulcer, which he already came with from home, he was in bed all day. That is not true, all the elderly have their diapers changed and their postural changes are made so that they do not get sores," Acuña defended.
Calling 112 when "it is necessary"
Another aspect that the Cuatro report denounced was that when an elderly person's health deteriorated, 112 or the doctor was not called at any time. In this regard, the director of the residence has assured that 112 is notified "when it is necessary." "The boy who denounced the man who is seen in the report wanted to give him a cardiac massage and we prevented him from doing so, because it was neither necessary nor was he qualified to do so. That man was taken to bed, his feet were raised and 112 was called. They came and verified that he was fine and left him at the residence," Acuña related, despite the fact that the complainant indicated on Cuatro that medical assistance never arrived.
A day later, according to the director himself (the Cuatro report states that it was that same night), a 94-year-old man died in that residence. "It so happens that the following night, a man who was quite ill due to his age, was put to bed and at 3 in the morning when he was going to have his postural change, he had died," he acknowledged.
"Nothing is hidden here"
The director of the "Sol de Otoño" residence has assured that "nothing is hidden here" and has lashed out against the complainant, indicating that he did not work 25 days, but only "10, because he was scared by the man's situation and did not come back". "Here neither the workers are overwhelmed nor the patients neglected," he pointed out. Specifically, in the "Sol de Otoño" center 27 elderly people live and 13 people work, plus the nurse and the doctor, according to Adolfo Acuña's version.
Acuña does not plan, for the moment, to sue the Cuatro channel for broadcasting the report. "We are evaluating it, but the damage is already done. No matter how much I file a complaint, that we start fighting with lawyers? the damage is already done," indicated the director of the nursing home, which after the broadcast of the report, already has a closure order from the Tías City Council.
Without license
Before the Tías City Council proceeded this Tuesday to decree the closure of this residence, and before the Minister of Social Welfare of the Government of the Canary Islands, Inés Rojas, made public that this center had a final judgment ordering its cessation of activity, Acuña assured La Voz that "everything is in order." However, he acknowledged that "there is always some paper missing."
He even assured that the center has a municipal permit, despite the fact that the City Council has decided to close this residence precisely because it lacks a license. What Adolfo Acuña did acknowledge is that "the authorization from the Government of the Canary Islands is not there." "I'm already telling you, it is also necessary to have subsidies, but we don't have it. It is being processed, we send the files and everything," he indicated on Tuesday morning.
In addition, he pointed out that "the residence has not been approved because it welcomes elderly people with Alzheimer's and with a significant disability." "They cannot give us a specific authorization, that is why it is called a center for accommodation and singular stay. I have people with very high dependency that I cannot have, but this is a private residence and that is why I have it," he acknowledged.
This Tuesday, the Civil Guard has moved to the "Sol de Otoño" residence, who has asked the director for documentation, as well as data on the number of patients and workers. "Now I have to bring the missing documentation," Acuña indicated.
