The tragedy in the home for the elderly in Barajevo, where eight people died in a fire and seven were injured, opened a series of questions about the condition and safety of such institutions. Who is responsible and how did this system failure occur?
Cause of tragedies in the nursing home, located in the village of Veliki Borak in the Belgrade suburban municipality of Barajevo, three persons were arrested, the married couple GI and A. I, and their son M. I, who were the owners and responsible persons of the home.
The Ministry responsible for social affairs announced that an extraordinary inspection was carried out in this institution, as well as that for now he knows that at the time of the accident the home had a valid work license, reports New economy.
Despite this, the social welfare inspectors banned the person in charge of the home from working.
This home did indeed have a license to operate as the Ministry stated, but there were also five users in the home, more than the number for which the home was licensed - 34 instead of 29.
As the Ministry of Social Affairs stated, it is most likely an arson fire caused by the user of this home.
According to data available on the website of the National Bank of Serbia, the current account held by the "Ivanović" Home for Accommodation of Adults and the Elderly in Veliki Bork in the municipality of Barajevo has been blocked for a full five years, from January 20, 2020, until today. , did not come out.
The Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, Nemanja Starović, said that the relevant ministry is determining all the facts that led to the issuance of the work license, which was normally issued in June 2021.
A series of irregularities in the House
The tragedy in Barajevo started the chain of responsibility and opened the question of whose failures led to the fact that this home, despite huge irregularities, received a license to work.
Nadežda Satarić, a long-time social worker and president of the Board of Directors of the "Strength of Friendship - Amity" association, which was founded in 1999 by social workers and psychologists in order to improve that system in Serbia, tells "Vreme" that the responsibility for issuing licenses to work in nursing homes for the accommodation of adults and the elderly, the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs has.
"The home in Barajevo somehow fulfilled the conditions for obtaining a license, although there were numerous irregularities." Primarily, such institutions must meet the condition regarding the accessibility of the location. It is difficult to get to the mentioned home in Barajevo, because the road is neither asphalt, nor macadam, nor even stone, but cobblestone", begins Satarić.
It is inadmissible for the road to a facility like this to be like that, because it was almost impossible to get to the location when it rained. A puddle was forming. This has already violated one condition for obtaining a license, which is very important because of the very access of medical vehicles to the facility, but also because of accessibility for people with disabilities.
"The fire protection was also in a bad state, and the question is how well the staff was trained to act in such situations." The competent authorities announced that the license was forged, and we also have information that the business account of this employer had been blocked for years. Here we see that the competent services failed, which do not cooperate with each other, and their employees obviously either do not know how to recognize a forged license or they look at the documents casually", says the social worker.
The very fact that there were more people in the home than was foreseen by the work permit, put the users in immediate danger. It is questionable whether the employees manage to dedicate enough time to each user and provide them with adequate services.
Over 150 homes lost their licenses
In Serbia, according to the latest data from the Association of Private Institutions of Social Protection, 277 licenses were issued for the operation of private homes for the elderly and adults.
In the last 10 years and more, exactly 157 such private institutions have lost their licenses.
Some of them, despite this, continued to work, as if nothing had happened.
"In the last 10 years, there were 157 decisions to ban the operation of these institutions. These are facilities that are officially registered as day care centers or hostels, and not as social welfare institutions. Then, at the invitation of the citizens, either the users of the homes or their relatives, the inspection comes", asserts Satarić.
The arrival of the inspection, however, did not always mean the closure of these institutions. In the past, says Satarić, owners would pay fines and continue as before. The inspection does not carry out regular inspections of homes for the elderly, but only by invitation.
"It is another big problem, but at the state level there are not enough employed inspectors to be able to carry out regular inspections." There are about 1.000 subjects that they need to supervise, and there are about 20 employees.
The Amity association, among other things, deals with improving the rights and living conditions of the elderly. They monitored the situations in homes across the country, and the situation is varied.
"There are good homes, with wonderful, qualified staff and where all conditions for work are met." However, there are also those where the users are neglected, and there are not enough staff to even help them maintain hygiene".
It's not the first case.
Not so long ago, in November last year, a fire broke out in a home for the elderly in Vojka near Stara Pazova, which did not have a work permit, and two people died in it.
It was determined that the nursing home did not have a work permit and its residents were accommodated in a facility that did not meet the requirements for housing the elderly and sick. After the fire, the police detained two people on suspicion of committing a serious crime against public safety.
After the tragedy, the competent authorities revoked the license of the home in Veliko Bork and announced increased control and supervision of facilities intended for that purpose and a change in the regulations for obtaining a work license.
And that's pretty much where it ends. After finding the responsible persons and controlling the damage, the system remains the same - dysfunctional and without any control.
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