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«When is it planned to allow visits of seriously ill relatives? People staying in DPS or ZOLs have been cut off from their relatives for over half a year. This is inhuman and inhumane treatment of the most seriously ill, ”wrote a concerned reader to Medonet. – The matter is difficult and requires balancing many arguments – explains the GIS spokesman asked by us for explanations. The Ministry of Health also referred to the problem.
- Letter to the editor: “When is it planned to allow visits of seriously ill relatives in nursing homes, nursing homes, rehabilitation and treatment centers in green zones? People staying in such institutions are cut off from their relatives »
- The recommendations of the Ministry of Health recommend, inter alia, Temporary complete suspension of visits to ZOL / ZPO patients by guests in order to minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission
- The ministry adds that the introduction of a ban on visiting ZOL / ZPO patients and DPS residents is also recommended by national consultants in the field of infectious diseases and geriatrics
- Ministry of Health: “the situation of people staying in ZOL / ZPO and their relatives in connection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemic is extremely difficult, but the threat resulting from the possibility of infection of people staying in these facilities is still very serious”
- You can find more up-to-date information on the TvoiLokony home page
“Why are we still banned from visiting relatives in the centers?”
The editors of MedTvoiLokony received a moving letter from a reader concerned about visiting bans for elderly and sick family members. This letter is reproduced in its entirety below.
«When is it planned to allow visits of seriously ill relatives (often unconscious or unable to speak due to a tracheostomy or connection to a ventilator) in nursing homes, nursing homes, rehabilitation and treatment centers in green zones? People staying in such institutions have been cut off from their relatives for over half a year (from March 10, 2020).
After consulting the office of the patient ombudsman, I know that people with a disability group are entitled to additional nursing care according to the patient’s rights, with the same rights as pregnant women and children staying in hospitals. Why is this right still prevented by our loved ones? Why are we still banned from visiting the center?
In such patients, their old diseases are aggravated and new ones are created precisely due to the lack of access to additional nursing care provided by the closest family.
Would the preservation of all precautions, such as measuring the temperature of visitors, disinfecting hands, no symptoms of illness, wearing a mask and protective clothing, limiting visits to one hour for one person, not be sufficient protection for such a visit?»- asks the reader.
How to reconcile the need to meet closeness and contact with the family, ensuring maximum safety for residents staying in care facilities, who, due to their age and health condition, are more exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection? The spokesman of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, Jan Bodnar, admits that “the matter is difficult and requires balancing many arguments”.
Let us remind here that social welfare homes are subject to the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, care and treatment facilities as well as nursing and care facilities – to the Ministry of Health.
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“The prolonged closure of nursing homes negatively affected the well-being of the residents”
Our reader’s voice is not the first to draw attention to the problem of cutting off people from XNUMX-hour care facilities from their loved ones. The media has repeatedly described the situation of individual centers.
The case was also raised by the Ombudsman. At the end of July, the Office of the Human Rights Defender informed that the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture (the body visiting places where people are deprived of their liberty, visits also concern nursing homes) asked all voivodes for information on the gradual easing of the sanitary regime in nursing homes and private nursing homes.
- How to protect seniors from the coronavirus?
“These facilities accommodate people from the groups most exposed to coronavirus infection: the elderly, the sick, and those with disabilities. However, the prolonged closure of social welfare homes, and the ban on residents ‘leaving and visits from their relatives negatively affected the residents’ well-being. In the opinion of many of them, the ongoing restrictions were too restrictive, especially when further restrictions were lifted in other areas of life»- we read on rpo.gov.pl
On August 24, the Ombudsman informed that in most voivodships it was decided to ease the restrictions, including making it possible for residents to meet their loved ones in compliance with sanitary rules. However, due to the changing epidemiological situation and the increase in infections, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy recommended the restoration of restrictions.
Visiting XNUMX/XNUMX care facilities – what does the law say?
The Ministry of Health would like to remind you that the limitation / suspension of visits to care and treatment facilities as well as nursing and care facilities has not been introduced in the form of legal regulations at the national level. However, recommendations were issued concerning “the organization of the process of providing nursing and care services as part of long-term care in relation to the state of the epidemic and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 cases”.
The document points out at the beginning that long-term care services are “an area requiring the highest epidemiological standards during the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus due to the health situation of patients and patients (multi-disease and chronic diseases) and the presence of additional age-related risks ».
These recommendations recommend, inter alia, Temporary complete suspension of visits to ZOL / ZPO patients by guests in order to minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission. As emphasized by the Ministry of Health, contact by phone or the Internet is recommended. For patients who are unable to maintain contact with their relatives on their own through these methods, “the recommendations point to the need to provide them with the highest possible standard of direct care and psychological / emotional support,” emphasizes the ministry.
- Co-morbidities – what does this mean?
Also, in detailed recommendations, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy emphasizes that residents of social welfare homes “should be able to contact their families using communication devices, and psychological help must also be available to them”.
In the comment given to us, the Ministry of Health adds that the introduction of a ban on visiting ZOL / ZPO patients and DPS residents is also recommended by national consultants in the field of infectious diseases and geriatrics.
The threat is still very serious
The Ministry of Health admits that “the situation of people staying in ZOL / ZPO and their relatives in connection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemic is extremely difficult, however, the threat resulting from the possibility of infection of people staying in these facilities, who are often elderly and people with diseases comorbid, is still very serious. In the event of an outbreak of infection in such facilities, it is very difficult to prevent it from spreading further ».
The ministry emphasizes that it is constantly monitoring the epidemic situation of the country and ZOL / ZPO / DPS (in cooperation with the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy). Signals from relatives of people staying in these facilities regarding the effects of limiting visits are also analyzed. “The subject of analyzes and consultations (including with the national consultant in the field of infectious diseases) is primarily the possibility of changing the recommendations for these institutions” – informs the ministry.
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«However, it should be clearly emphasized that the final decisions regarding the introduction or removal of restrictions in this scope in a specific institution should be taken after analyzing the applicable national and regional recommendations / regulations / instructions, as well as the current epidemiological situation in a given area and in the entity whose the restriction applies to »- emphasizes MZ. These decisions should be made by the head of a given facility, after consultation with the voivode, the voivodeship branch of the National Health Fund and the relevant poviat sanitary and epidemiological station.
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