Organisation of long-time care in Poland. Selected forms Małgorzata Ołdak, Ph.D. The Insitute of Social Policy of the Warsaw University

Institutions providing long-term care in Poland: II. Institutional care III. Semi stationary care I. Home care

Institutions providing long-term care in Poland: I. Home care performed in the frames of the health care system by:  A community liaison nurse under the supervision of the first contact doctor;  A home nurse (on the basis of a contract for long-term nursing care);  A multi-disciplinary long-term care team. performed in the frames of the social assistance system by:  community support worker (economic and care services);  nurse or other therapist (specialist care services) at the request of social worker.

Institutions providing long-term care in Poland: II. Institutional care Performed in the frames of the health care system by:  A hospital ward for the chronically ill;  A residential medical care facilty;  A nursing facility;  A hospice; performed in the frames of the social assistance system by:  social assistance homes  family assistance homes.

Institutions providing long-term care in Poland: III. Semi stationary care Performed in the frames of the health care system by:  At a day-care mental disease ward performed in the frames of the social assistance system by:  day care centre.

Social assistance homes and family assistance homes

Legal basis:  The Act of 12 March 2004 on social assistance;  The Regulation of the Minister of Social Policy of 19 October 2005 on social assistance homes;  The Regulation of the Minister of Social Policy of 28 July 2005 on family assistance homes.

Service recipients: To a social assistance home are referred people requiring 24/7 care due to age, disability, inability to function self-reliably in the existing place of residence and to whom the necessary assistance in the form of nursing services cannot be provided.

Responsible bodies: Having obtained a voivode's permit, Social Assistance Homes may be run by:  Units of local government;  Social organisations, fundations and associations;  The Catholic Church, other churches, religious associations;  Other legal person;  Natural persons.

Financing rules: The stay in a social assistance home is provided to persons against a charge up to the average monthly subsistence cost.

Financing rules: The charges for stay in a social assistance home are payable by:  A home resident, not more than 70% of her/his income;  A spouse, descendants (children, grand children etc.) predecessors (parents, grandparents etc.) in accordance with a concluded contract;  A commune from which a given person was referred to the social assistance home;  Other persons not listed here.

Standards in the field of welfare services provided by the Social Assistance Homes:  The building and its surroundings devoid of architectural barriers;  A multi-storey building needs to have a passenger elevator adjusted to the needs of the disabled persons installed;  A building is furnished with a call and alert system and fire and alarm system;  The number of places in newly established homes is not greater than 100.

Standards in the field of nursing and suporting services provided by the Social Assistance Homes:  Provision of social work;  Organization of occupational therapy;  Residents have access to a library or a library service point and daily press, as well as the opportunity to learn the legal regulations concerning the homes;  Organization of holiday celebrations, occasional feasts and the possibility to participate in cultural and sport events;  The posibility to contact a chaplain and attend religious practice accordant with the denomination of a given resident of the home;  Regular contacts with the home's director on specified weekdays and at specified hours.

Standards concerning employment in a Social Assistance Home:  Full time employment of at least two social workers per 100 residents;  Assurance of contacts with a psychologist and/or psychiatrist;  Holding a full time employability index for employers of a therapeutic and nursing team for the proper type of home: For elderly people – not less than 0.4 per a resident; For physically chronically ill persons – not less than 0.6 per a resident; For mentally chronically ill persons – not less than 0.5 per a resident.

Social assistance homes in Poland: The number of units with local coverage:  The responsible entity – a commune: 14 Number of places: 729  Other responsible entity: 4 Number of places: 187 Number of units with supra-communal coverage:  The responsible entity – a poviat: 581 Number of places: 64,025  Another responsible entity: 202 Number of places: 13,104 Source: the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy 03 for 2011

Family assistance homes: A new form of 24/7 nursing care performed in the frames of own responsibilites of a commune, which selects the type of services from the perspective of its residents as well as effectiveness and costs. Nursing services in the form of a family assistance home is an attempt to build into the system an intermediary link between nursing service provided in the place of residence and a 24/7 facility of professional support, i.e. a social assistance home.

Family assistance homes: Service recipients: Elderly people suffering problems with self-reliant existence, who do not require yet to be placed in a social assistance home. A family assistance home is designed to accomodate not fewer than 3 and not more than 8 persons; as a result it is possible to create there the conditions and atmospehre resembling a natural family.

Family assistance homes The number of units; the responsible entity – a commune: 8 (świętokrzyskie region: 4, warmińsko- mazurskie region: 4) Number of places: 50 Other responsible entity: 25 (małopolskie region: 2, pomorskie region: 4, śląskie region: 2, wielkopolskie region: 2, zachodniopomorskie region: 1, opolskie region: 13, świętokrzyskie region: 1) Number of places: 79 Source: the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy 03 for 2011

Family assistance homes: example of Gdańsk Number of family assistance homes: 4 Number of attendees: 27

Family assistance homes: example of Gdańsk Financing source: a Social Assistance Centre (PLN 1,750 /person), fees paid by the attendees, city budget. Legal form: business activity. Benefits: increased number of places in residential medical care and nursing facilities, financial benefits (the cost of a single place in a Social Assistance Home amounts to between PLN 2000 and PLN 2 500), closer contact with the carers.

Family assistance home „Jesienna przystań” in Gdańsk:

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