On 26 March, Alzheimer Europe joined with other civil society organisations in the Long-Term Care Alliance to issue a statement expressing concern that the the mission letters of the new European Commission do not fully reflect the ambition of the European Care Strategy.
The statement notes the importance of increasing the availability and affordability of rights-based, person-centred, quality care, particularly home care and community-based care, especially in the light of demographic developments and the transition away from institutional care. It further notes the need for care and support should be resolutely acknowledged as a social responsibility, rather than a private one, as it impacts society as whole, and both influences and is influenced by factors such as gender, employment, exposure to physical and mental health risks, poverty and social exclusion and the environment.
The statement makes a number of demands, including, inter alia, the need to:
• Strengthen and support health promotion and prevention to reduce the increase of care needs
• Assist Member States in developing rights-based, person-centred long-term care services across all territories through the European Semester, European funding and increased flexibility in public spending rules
• Support the development of high-quality support services and measures for informal carers, tailored to their needs
• Investigate and prevent the causes of abuse and neglect in long-term care settings
• Up-skilling and re-skilling of the long-term care workforce for the provision of person-centred care services
• Encourage Member States to support high quality care by recognising the importance of different care and support services, valuing the interest of viable not-for-profit alongside for-profit providers.
As part of the statement, the Alliance reiterated its proposal for a European Long-Term Care Platform as part of the revised Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights to give this policy a tangible framework of monitoring and transparency, with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including civil society organisations.
The full statement is available at: https://coface-eu.org/joint-call-on-long-term-care/