Seniors’ safety is endangered by low staffing
Päivi Inberg, President of the Finnish Union of Practical Nurses SuPer, says that the staffing in services for seniors must be raised in most care units from the current minimum level of 0.6 nurses per customer to ensure the safety of both the seniors and the nursing staff. In the assessment of the Finnish Institute…
Services for seniors are becoming increasingly demanding as seniors are in worse condition than before when they get access to services. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is constantly assessing the functional capacity of customers who access service housing with 24-hour assistance. The assessments show that seniors’ depression and behaviour disorders are at a higher level than before once they access the services. The seniors’ cognitive abilities are also at a much lower level than before, which indicates an increase in the number of seniors with memory disorders, in particular.
The Finnish Government’s decisions to decrease staffing in senior services are entirely the wrong measures to take while seniors’ needs for services are increasing. This significantly weakens the level of care in senior services and endangers their physical safety in the care units. Insufficient staffing does not allow for the level of care in senior services that older people in our society require. Moreover, the increased need for care does not apply only to institutional care, but also to home care services for seniors. Currently, all too many seniors are stashed away in their homes without sufficient services, says SuPer President Inberg.
The Act on Care Services for Older Persons, the Social Welfare Act and even the Constitution require that seniors have access to services that they need. A simple indicator for this requirement is whether the services needed by a senior can be produced in both service housing and home care. If these criteria are not met, the service level must be raised. This also means that the existing minimum staffing of 0.6 nurses per customer in service housing with 24-hour assistance is not sufficient. It is the responsibility of the wellbeing services counties and supervisory authorities to enforce the law. Both the Constitutional Law Committee and the Social Affairs and Health Committee of the Parliament have required that staffing is monitored and corrective measures are taken when necessary.
The recent cases of violence in multiple senior care units have mostly been perpetrated by seniors with a memory disorder. The number of seniors with memory disorders in senior services units is constantly growing, and combined with the low staffing, it poses a danger for both the seniors and the nurses. They all deserve better conditions. This must be truly accounted for both in the decision-making of wellbeing services counties and the Parliament, who decide on county funding. Unfortunately, reactions to any shortcomings observed are often delayed in Finland. Often, action is only taken after the media brings up the shortcomings for everyone to see.
Enquiries: SuPer President Päivi Inberg, tel. +358 40 705 9115