During the plenary session (5-8 October 2020) of the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs debate on the impact of Covid-19 outbreak on long-term care facilities with Dubravka SUICA, EC Vice-President.

Brussels

debate

plenary session

ŠUICA, Dubravka (EPP, HR, EC)

healthcare safety (T)

METZ, Tilly (Greens/EFA, LU)

FRANSSEN, Cindy (EPP, BE)

PÎSLARU, Dragoş (Renew, RO)

MAJORINO, Pierfrancesco (S&D, IT)

Coronavirus outbreak (T)

Impact of Covid-19 outbreak on long-term care facilities: extracts from the debate

Interior shots of European parliament in Brussels

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka &#352;UICA, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Democracy and Demography, We need to improve the protection of the most vulnerable in our societies. Too many lives have already been lost. We know that social services have been under particular strain. And the commission is committed to help.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka &#352;UICA, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Democracy and Demography, We held discussions with organisations focussing on services to the elderly, people with disabilities and others who are in need of Long-Term Care. We are listening for the sector and are assessing the different instruments and possible solutions to support both providers and users of these services.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka &#352;UICA, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Democracy and Demography, We are assessing whether our social protection systems are fit to deal with the needs of an ageing population. Families, often women, provide the large part of informal long term care. Informal carers serve better support, such as social protection, income, replacement training, counselling and they look and day care. The gender, the gender care gap must be addressed, including the equal sharing of informal care responsibilities. We can do this through the implementation of Directive on work life ba lance, which should be transposed by 2020.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka &#352;UICA, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Democracy and Demography, The ReactEU programme will continue and extend to the crisis response and repair measures by reinforcing capacities in Health and Long-Term Care. In addition, the Commission is working with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control to protect vulnerable groups, including older people in residential homes, but also in places like migrant centres and prisons.

SOUNDBITE (Dutch), Cindy FRANSSEN (EPP, BE), Difficult choices had to be made over who would be hospitalised, often based on age criteria. Choices that we have not had to make since the Second World War, and it is the generation that tried to build our welfare state that had its lives cut short.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pierfrancesco MAJORINO (S&amp;D, IT), We need greater investment, new choices to phase the second phase of the emergency without repeating the huge mistakes of the past.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Drago&#537; P&#206;SLARU (RE, RO), Renew Europe, our political struggles for rethinking care and care facilities in the management of their communities to make sure we shall no longer have abandonment of vulnerable people in institutionalised systems in the future. We should substantially invest in creating access and opportunity for any EU citizen in need to benefit care sustainably by indirect access or in the community where they live.

SOUNDBITE (French), Tilly METZ (Greens/EFA, LU), I call upon the European Parliament to set up a committee of enquiry to shed light on what happened. The inhumane treatment violations of human rights cannot remain without consequences, and it is our responsibility to give a voice to these people and demonstrate that there are no second class citizens in Europe.