The images of a user of a residence in Barcelona surrounded by ants that crawled through her pajamas and ran over her body have once again highlighted the conditions in which inmates and workers in social and health centres find themselves. Although it is a specific event, the lack of staff and the poor working conditions of the staff structure a social and health system dominated by the private sector in Catalonia, as reported by the unions and the Marea de Residencias. They demand greater investments that go back to the well-being of users and their caregivers.
The video recorded by an employee of the La Vostra Llar Reig residence, in La Garriga (Barcelona), was so revealing that even the Department of Social Rights of the Generalitat decided to inspect the residences in the area to detect a possible ant infestation. Once the center where the events occurred was confirmed, the ministry sent two inspectors to carry out a thorough examination. “The inspection report is still being prepared,” they added. For its part, the communication department of the residence specifies that it is a “one-off and isolated event” that occurred two months ago and that it is now “completely resolved.”
The residence explains that at the time of detection, “a rigorous cleaning action was carried out in the affected room and adjacent areas.” They add that the municipality’s health services have also determined that the person concerned “has not suffered any illness or injury due to the situation.” Things do not end there, since the management of the center and the family of the affected user are considering taking legal action for violation of the right to privacy against the worker, already dismissed, who recorded the images.
Pressing precariousness in the sector
“I saw this video, but nothing in the world of residences surprises me anymore,” says Jaume Adrover, head of the social services sector of the UGT of Catalonia. He also cannot say more about the event because the union is not represented in this union. “And that’s another problem. Many residences don’t have union representatives, so these things end up being hidden,” he adds. In any case, according to him, the graphic testimony indicates that “it took a long time before a worker entered that room” to notice how dozens of ants were roaming around a motionless body.
Faced with this extreme, Adrover determines that nursing home staff are the ones who work in the worst conditions of the entire labor market. “If you look closely, you will see that there is a very brutal lack of staff with incredible workloads, which is why people end up burning out,” in his own words.
In addition, the salary does not match. Indeed, the last five categories of the agreement were below the minimum wage after the last two increases. The working conditions are not easy either. We often work with rotating teams while daily performance does not give us any respite. “We spend the whole day moving a lot of weight, cleaning, taking care of a lot of things, in addition to the stress of having few employees,” denounces the union leader.
The UGT also points out that in the residential sector, there are no workplace accidents: “This means that the mutual insurance companies say that these are common illnesses that refer to the Social Security conditions that are a consequence of the workers’ professional activities.”
“Failure” of the system
Asked about the Catalan social services system, Adrover is clear: “It has gone bankrupt.” He claims that it is a system in which very little money is invested. “More than well-being, we should talk about discomfort,” he adds. The data he manipulates confirms his position. While there are around 1,100 residences in Catalonia, only 16 are owned and managed by the State. “This means that when a problem arises, the Generalitat, which holds the powers, is kidnapped,” he exclaims.
It is not just about investing more, but also about reassessing where that investment goes. “With hundreds of places set up in Catalonia, all employers do is ask the Administration for money, which gives it to them. On the other hand, it does not invest it in the elderly or their caregivers,” denounces the UGT. He still remembers what happened during the pandemic and the fact that no residences closed, unlike any other sector hit by the health crisis. “What we experienced in the residences during the first and second waves of the coronavirus is called the Holocaust, but here everything has already been covered up,” he continues.
Change reality, not working conditions
Things changed about twenty years ago, when residences began to be designed as a place to live out the last years of life and receive quality care. According to Elena Motos, spokesperson for Marea de Residencias in Catalonia and a nurse at a hospital in Lleida, “the people who attended these centres were much more independent than today, where 80% of residents have a high level of dependency and many of them suffer from cognitive and psychiatric disorders.
It should also be remembered that the Catalan model is “fundamentally private and highly feminised”. It is estimated that around 60,000 people could be employed in the sector, 90% of whom are women and, of these, 60% come from other countries.
One of the main demands of Marea de Residencias is the increase in the ratio, the number of caregivers per resident. “We are still at 580 hours per user with a high dependency. It seems like a lot, but if you do the math, it comes down to less than two hours a day to shower, dress, go to the bathroom, eat, have dinner… It is less than the time needed at my house,” Motos criticizes.
From his point of view, the civic society must humanize the residences. He describes as “inhuman” the treatment suffered by the elderly, “who leave all their fundamental rights at the door, because now they can hardly decide anything about their lives”, says the man who was also responsible for the residences in Barcelona for the Workers’ Commissions.
Another form of care is possible. It was and still is. “We need to change the system, because it has failed. Employers are profiting from our last years of life while public coffers continue to fatten their profit accounts. Investments are needed here, but well-targeted, to make what we talk about so much a reality: putting people at the center,” he concludes.
