|
|
|
|
ENNHRI continues the implementation of the Older persons project aiming at improving the protection of older persons in long-term care with a particular emphasis on residential care.
The project has three main phases, two of which have already been completed. The main focus now is to raise awareness about a human rights based approach to long-term care (LTC) and engage with stakeholders across Europe and internationally.
Click here to learn more about the project
|
|
Project Latest Developments
|
|
Pilot Monitoring Work
BELGIUM, CROATIA, GERMANY, HUNGARY, LITHUANIA, ROMANIA
During eight months, six pilot monitoring groups carried on visits to care homes in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and Romania. They conducted interviews with government officials and reviewed how human rights were included within relevant legislation when planning and organising long-term care at national and regional level.
|
|
"It is imperative that LTC residents are treated as rights holders and not just as objects of ministration".
|
|
|
Pilot country profile: Interview with Polina Aronson, Policy Adviser German Institute of Human Rights
- How and why did it get involved in ENNHRI’s Older Persons project?
With demographic change becoming more and more pressing in Germany, rights of older persons are an important item on the Institute’s agenda. About twenty percent of the German population is now over 65 years old. This demographic development means new challenges to the national system of professional nursing care or, in German, Pflege (care). In particular, it is imperative that LTC residents are treated as rights holders and not just as objects of ministration. To achieve this goal, a profound reform of care provision has been carried out by the German government throughout the last few years. Taking part on this project allow us to study the implementation of this reform and analyse its first results in a broader, cross-national setting. We also see our collaboration with ENNHRI as a platform to promote older persons’ human rights and raise awareness about the necessity of a binding legal instrument, protecting the elderly as a specific vulnerable group (as it is the case with CRPD , for example).
- What are the main human rights issues in/facing the long-term care sector in Germany?
We believe that three problems are of particular importance at the moment. First, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive and legally binding mechanism on protection of rights of older persons. At the moment, although many actors in care – in particular, managers – have an intuitive understanding of older persons’ human rights, the knowledge of what rights are relevant to care residents and how they need to be upheld, is too fragmented. In particular, care residents themselves have very little idea about ways to stand up for their rights: many people are too shy to file complaints or, in other cases, have no information about Advance Health Care Directive. We believe that a binding convention on Older Persons’ Human Rights could serve as a reliable framework for all actors. The second hurdle to implementation of human rights in long-term care, is the precarious situation of care workers. Low income, poorly regulated contracts and a very high ration of residents per person lead to frustration, demotivation and rotation of personnel. In worst case, they also lead to abuse and neglect of elderly. Thus, in order to protect the rights of LTC residents, we need to start protecting rights of care workers better, for example, by leveling their salaries and qualifications with other care professions. Finally, the German LTC sector suffers from a lack of sufficient and sustainable complaint management system. Our study demonstrates most complaints in the LTC sector are dealt with internally and on ad hoc principle. Whereas for homes with strong management and well-qualified personnel this strategy might be sufficient, it can lead to significant problems in LTC organizations with weaker organizational structure. Therefore, we recommend that a sustainable low-threshold system of complaint management mechanisms should be established and granted a mandate to file legal cases. Otherwise, access to justice may remain infringed to all actors in LTC sector, from elderly residents to their relatives to care workers.
|
|
What is a Human Rights Based Approach?
In June, ENNHRI had the possibility to introduce what means a Human Rights Based Approach to elder abuse at the World Awareness Abuse Day co-organised with AGE Platform Europe, the Council of Europe and the European Commission.
A human rights-based approach (HRBA) is a model of service delivery that places the principles and standards of human rights as central to all aspects of service planning, policy and practice. A HRBA has the following key elements:
- all key stakeholders are empowered and can participate in achieving the realisation of rights;
- the rights promoted are explicitly linked to national and international human rights law ;
- accountability is clear and
- the most discriminated against, marginalised or excluded people are prioritised.
|
|
PANEL Principles
A HRBA is underpinned by five key human rights principles, known as the PANEL Principles:
Learn more about the Panel Principles here
|
|
 Follow our project hashtag on Twitter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ENNHRI's Human Rights of Older Persons and Long-term Care is funded by a grant from the European Commission (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion). 