What happened in the nursing homes, especially in the first wave of covid, four years ago now, but also in other peaks of the epidemic, was terrible. Thousands of residents died. They called this diary desperate relatives because they didn't know about their grandparents. Some centers didn't even answer the phone. Some managers did not know what to do, without material, without personnel. Many workers became infected. There were those who locked themselves in with the residents to take care of them and prevent the transmission of the virus. And there were those who deserted a precarious job. It was difficult to find substitutes, some NGOs (including firefighters and soldiers) helped disinfect and reorganize the centers to reduce infections.
The Parliament of Catalonia, after two years and listening to numerous people in the sector, has made an extensive report on what happened, as well as the treatment of residents in the Madrid Assembly. The Parliament's report indicates that if the epidemic overwhelmed the health system, much more so the residences, with a model that is more hotel and business than medical care.
The first weeks were chaos and the lack of knowledge of the infection and the fact that the older population was more vulnerable facilitated mass infections and mortality. There were many and contradictory instructions; Coordination between administration and centers, information to families failed and, as a rule, isolation was applied that was very bad for the residents, who felt abandoned and many died without the accompaniment of their relatives. Medical care and hospitalization were unequal, depending on the areas. And luckily, a vaccine arrived at the end of 2020. There were complaints, inspections, the Generalitat intervened in 35 centers (among more than a thousand), but the majority have returned to the hands of the managing entity.
No responsibilities arise from the report. It advocates rethinking the residential model, reinforcing its financing and the quality of care. Relatives of residents have been disappointed and angry. It's understandable. That thought of whether suffering could have been saved, more lives saved, is not erased. It is difficult to bear responsibility for a pandemic and few cases reached the courts. The bad thing is that doubt that, if an alarm were to occur again, do we have guarantees that something similar would not happen?
