14 October 2009
This Report was drafted by a group of independent experts convened by Commissioner Vladimír Špidla in February 2009 to address the issues of institutional care reform in their complexity. Anne-Sophie Parent, Director of AGE was part of the small ad-hoc group of experts and contributed the perspective of older people.
Many people of all ages and different conditions (elderly, children, persons with disabilities – including persons with mental health problems) live in residential institutions which tend to segregate them from the community. For the purposes of this report, these institutions are not defined primarily by their size but above all by features of “institutional culture” (depersonalisation, rigidity of routine, block treatment, social distance, paternalism).There is strong evidence in support of transition from institutional care to community-based alternatives (deinstitutionalisation). These can provide better results for users, their families and the staff while their costs are comparable to those of institutional care if the comparison is
made on the basis of comparable needs of residents and comparable quality of care. The current economic crisis should thus not be seen as a reason to delay existing or planned processes of deinstitutionalisation.
To read the report click here.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 August 2010 15:36
