Axis I. Institutional Dialogue and Meeting with Third Sector Entities and Full Inclusion
From the political approach proposed by Coalición Canaria in Lanzarote, there must be a change of course in the actions that have been developed in the current mandate (2019-2023). Not only have we not advanced, but we also observe a clear deterioration of our coverage system for the most vulnerable in our society.
Therefore, now more than ever, it is essential to combine the increase in available places in all care sectors with new resources and infrastructures; an objective that should go hand in hand with the entities that have shown special interest and sensitivity.
In other words, it is about taking advantage of the genuine, the unique of our concerned society and that on many occasions reaches where the administration does not. For this, there is no other way than to promote spaces for meeting and dialogue in the different administrations involved (city councils, Cabildo, Government of the Canary Islands and third sector entities).
From our way of understanding the work in Social Welfare, active listening to the island entities of the third sector is one of the priority keys to recover. Associations with projects and proven and solvent experience in their field of action, different and that represent real needs and problems of citizens.
These groups have an accumulated knowledge of years of dedication, reflection, analysis of the reality where they move. That is why, precisely, public administrations should go hand in hand and complement this wisdom and experience that in most cases they want to share and make available to the island demands in Social Welfare and Health.
We propose creating an Advisory Body that is like an "Island Council for Social Care" where all entities have a voice, a meeting space so that together we can advance towards an increasingly just and supportive society.
Above all, that Council is born with the intention of incorporating FULL INCLUSION as a cross-cutting axis, applicable to all political performance in the different areas of action. Therefore, if the citizens give us their trust, this Council would incorporate the name of INCLUSION as proof of this determined commitment.
Our island lacks a well-deserved tribute and recognition to the entities that defend the rights and needs of the most vulnerable. I am referring to those who started and still continue to fight every day and are an inspiration and example of commitment and dedication.
Surely many are missing, but due to their trajectory over the last decades, ADISLAN could be named (more than 50 years in the care of Intellectual Disability), El CRIBO (Defense of the rights of the psychiatric patient, they already spoke of mental health and the need to overcome stigmas and labels), AFA (emphasizing the need to address Alzheimer's and other dementias with resources), AFOL (tireless fight for the improvement of our Public Health, acting as a speaker for the patient who suffers), MARARIA (talking about feminism and equality, women's rights and not now that other times are running, but decades ago when their discourse was not understood), in addition to others equally important such as Calor y Café, AFACODA, Cáritas or Flora Acoge.
Then, in the wake of these, others were created and even today groups continue to form whose sole interest is the struggle to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable people.
Axis II Map of New Social Health Infrastructures in the Dependency Sector, of the Elderly Area.
Open document for reflection and contributions in the map of needs in care for dependent elderly people on the island of Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
Over the last few years, the islands of Lanzarote and La Graciosa have lived and suffered a period of misgovernment that has been characterized by a lack of reflection and analysis on social policies aimed at protecting the most vulnerable sectors of the population, such as our elderly.
The recent global pandemic suffered gave us an analysis of reality and a social diagnosis that revealed the critical points of the long-awaited and coveted "welfare state", warning public managers of the need for investment in care, mainly in the health and social aspects, if we want to fulfill the obligation to protect the groups of greater social vulnerability.
Therefore, planning and designing a roadmap for the creation of new social health infrastructures must be and will be one of the priorities that I have set myself, as a public servant, for the new era of island government.
With this firm commitment, we want to close that stage of misgovernment in which, far from materializing the construction of a High Requirement Senior Center that would allow us to respond to the care needs of the islands of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, through the creation of more than 150 public places, not only have they not been able to execute said work, but also their only commitment has been institutional and administrative silence, thereby ignoring a crucial and necessary demand for our population.
Lanzarote and La Graciosa deserve to be attended to with a care policy with capital letters, always focused on people and their needs through the creation of centers and services that provide care coverage to the real needs of the population.
That is why, from Coalición Canaria, we propose to increase the number of public places for social health care through the creation of new infrastructures according to the new intervention models based on the person, through the following proposals:
- Promote a reflection on the future of the Insular Hospital, currently oriented to geriatric health care. For this, we propose to assess and study demanding the Government of the Canary Islands to build a new Insular Hospital specialized in the care of the elderly, which allows the adaptation and modernization of a space that, at present, presents obvious structural deficiencies.
It is a legitimate claim, considering the commitment that was made in its day to have such a specialized and unique service in the Canary Islands.
The recovery of the Lanzarote Insular Hospital would mean its conversion into a social health care space for the elderly, subject previously to the necessary reforms and adaptations that allow compatibility with social health use. In this way, services could be provided such as: the attached residence, which currently houses patients with High Health Requirement, in addition to implementing resources for Medium Social Health Requirement places and for Low Social Health Requirement places, also maintaining the day center places that are offered at this time charged to the Day Hospital service portfolio.
In short, it would be about modernizing and adapting this strategic space in the city of Arrecife for the care and attention of our elderly and, in this way, the capital of the island would have new infrastructures to respond to this vulnerable population sector.
The redefinition of this new infrastructure would be promoted from the different administrations with a determined financial commitment from the future Government of the Canary Islands. In this way and being consistent with an island that focuses its care demands on the specialized care of its most fragile elderly, we would become a reference model at the Canary Islands level and always from public services.
- In the municipality of Yaiza, a response must be given to the demand and need for a small cohabitation unit in a residential regime that is integrated into the urban environment and that allows the quality of care in a friendly space. Likewise, and attached to this cohabitation unit, the provision of places in a day stay regime would be implemented. This would facilitate the care of those cases that need specialized care and allow adequate family respite.
- In the municipality of Teguise, we will continue fighting for the construction of a High Requirement Senior Center, promoting the current building project, or a smaller space, assessing other locations. We would also work on an infrastructure for the elderly with the need for day care, and for family respite situations.
- In the municipality of San Bartolomé, the inclusion of the infrastructure carried out by the San Bartolomé City Council as a Family Respite Center within the Insular Network of Social Health Care for the Elderly would be considered and thereby guarantee sustainable financing and access with the rights of the Dependency Law.
- In the municipality of Haría, we propose the implementation of a day stay resource, specialized care for the elderly with the need for support and that also allows to meet the demands of family respite. An interesting proposal is the use of the current Mala Health Center that is underutilized.
- For the entire island area of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, we propose the incorporation of new care models: the creation of supervised housing for those cases of elderly people lacking this vital resource, and the creation of family respite places that serve as support for families for a reconciliation of the care of our elderly with their own family and work obligations, either through nights, hours or specific days.
I want to emphasize that our main axis, in relation to the care model that our population deserves, will not only consist of expanding the social health infrastructures and thereby expanding the number of public places in the current Network of care Resources, but our commitment will go further, working on the care and improvement of the current centers and services for the Elderly: Tías Senior Center, Haría Senior Center, San Roque Senior Center, Dr Domingo de Guzmán Residence, Las Cabrera Day Center and La Graciosa Day Center.
The trend in Europe is these day care centers enhanced with more home help. Not only for hygiene, but complemented with hot menus at home for elderly or elderly couples who live alone and have mobility problems; in addition to podiatry and physiotherapy services, promotion of volunteering for accompaniment, etc.
There is a tendency to improve and specialize home services, to exhaust all possibilities for the elderly to remain in their homes. It is more satisfactory for them and more sustainable from an economic point of view.
Finally, and attending to social justice, I do not want to forget the Third Sector composed of all those non-profit associations and entities that are an indispensable and necessary piece for the development of this care model, with the unavoidable commitment of corporate social work so forgotten and so necessary.
*Marciano Acuña. Member of the list of Coalición Canaria to the Cabildo of Lanzarote
