Spain care reform: families fear rights without funding

Families provide more than 80% of care in Spain, and groups warn that new legal rights could leave them disappointed if the money to deliver them does not follow. Congress in Madrid gave final approval to reforms covering dependency care and disability on 17 September. Organisations representing older people and people with disabilities call the change a historic step, but say funding must be secure.

The reform promises people needing care more say over how and where they are looked after. José Luis Fernández Santillana, president of the Spanish Confederation of Organisations for Older People, said support payments must arrive without delay if the measures are to work.

His organisation wants older people’s groups involved in tracking the reform. Its priorities include cutting waits for care-level assessments and benefit allocations, and adding personal assistance and telecare as services that can be used alongside each other.

The Spanish Council for the Defence of Disability and Dependency says the system already struggles with waiting lists, administrative delays and major regional gaps in access to support. Vice-president Mar Ugarte warned that expanding services and obligations without stable, sufficient resources could turn the law into a missed opportunity for thousands of families.

The council is calling for public measures showing whether authorities meet their targets, plus a state pact to protect the system from changes of government. The Platform of Older People and Pensioners also says the rules and budget behind the reform must make the new rights work in practice.

Topics: Social affairs · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com