Alex Trelinski
ANDALUCIA and the Valencia Community are not providing enough nursing home places for people aged 65 and over.
The claim is made in a report by the Association of Directors and Managers of Social Services.
They say the two regions are the main offenders in Spain for failing to reach the ratio of five nursing home beds per 100 people, as established by the World Health Organisation(WHO).
Andalucia has a shortage of 31,475 beds with a 23,485 deficit in the Valencia region.
Castilla y Leon has the largest number of nursing home places with plenty of spare provision for its population.
According to the study, Spain reached 397,443 places in 2021 (7,766 more than the previous year), after the the 2020 slowdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nationwide, 76,350 nursing home beds are still needed to get to the five places per 100 people ratio established by the WHO.
In a statement, the Social Services Association said: “Nursing homes continue to be a great need in our country, due to the increase in the elderly population and in situations of dependency and a need for long-term care.”
It pointed out that over 53,000 beds were required in 2014.
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