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Mr. Augustinas Normantas
After the second visit to Kaunas District nursing homes, advisers of the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office were unpleasantly surprised by the huge number of unsolved problems, even though they had already been identified during the first visit to these nursing homes last year.
Mr. Augustinas Normantas, the Seimas Ombudsman, could not conceal his deep disappointment with the findings. "The saddest thing is that the institutions have failed to solve even those problems, which do not require additional financial resources," he said.
The Seimas Ombudsman noted that only two out of eleven care facilities, Ežerelis Social Care Home and Panemunės Elderly Care Home, had managed to solve all the issues related to human rights violations. "However, there were such institutions as elderly care homes 'Užusaliai,' 'Globasta,' or 'Auksinis Amžius,' which had solved only an insignificant number of problems established by us," noted Mr. Normantas.
Among the listed shortcomings were a non-functional emergency system, a practice of locking elderly patients in their rooms, allowing them to bathe only once every two weeks, and not disinfecting worn-out, dirty, or torn mattresses before passing them over to other residents.
In the opinion of the Seimas Ombudsman, personal security must be guaranteed without interfering with privacy and dignity of residents. Social workers should encourage the elderly to fend for themselves and to use their own skills.
The Ombudsman expressed his hope that the executives of care facilities are responsible and will eliminate violations: "If however, the problems associated with human rights violations remain unsolved, we will take the strictest measures. The Seimas Ombudsmen may refer to the founders of care homes for the evaluation of the personnel in charge or if that does not help, apply to the court. However, we believe that the Department of Supervision of Social Services, which issues licenses to these institutions, will assess these institutions as well."
Source: The Seimas Ombudsmen's Office - LITHUANIA
