The new procedure for recognizing dependency status and benefits in Andalusia implemented by the Board in March of last year, which reduces the process to a single home visit and a single resolution, is causing a headache. And not only for the families of the people who want to request the benefit and have to wait their turn, but also for the employees who, within the administration itself, have to carry out a fairly complex process.
So much so that social workers, administrators and psychologists who carry out their work in the General Administration of the Board and in the Social Services and Dependency Agency denounce certain “abuses” in their working conditions, which have changed “a lot” with the new system, and in the way in which appointments and objectives to be met now have to be managed under the Board’s guidelines, “and who pays for it is the quality of service to users.”
“We can’t do everything, we don’t have time.” A dependency assessment official in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, spokesperson in Cádiz for the Andalusian Platform for Dependency Care Personnel (PAPAD), which brings together more than 300 people from different professionals, tells what happens to these Board employees. of the Andalusian public sector in the field of dependency “for decent, quality, efficient and fair care.” Lourdes Delgado regrets that they have been unsuccessfully denouncing the deficits of the new system, which the Department of Social Inclusion has been defending despite the increase in waiting times, attributable to the temporary coexistence of two computer systems according to the counselor, Loles López.
Sources from the Ministry boast that in dependency “for the first time” the number of beneficiaries has exceeded 290,000, with 430,000 benefits. “The only thing missing is for us to have the same benefits in 2024 as in 2018,” said a source well-versed in the system. The PAPAD spokesperson, for her part, criticizes that the Andalusian Government “plays with the complexity of the system” and uses figures to “deceive” citizens, regretting that for some time now workers cannot “self-manage” quotes and ratings. He also complains, and extends this to his colleagues, who have to make visits with their own vehicle, although the administration pays for the fuel, Ministry sources confirm.
“We already warned that it was going to fail and it is failing”
“Now we have to collect the data, evaluate it, decide the most appropriate resource, prepare the report, etc. We can’t do everything, we don’t have time,” explains the spokesperson in Cádiz. “The work that was previously done by two people is now done by only one,” says Luis Fernández, who came up with the idea of uniting the voices of these workers after noticing the “malfunction” of the new system for which he also works as an appraisal officer in Seville. “Why doesn’t the Board talk about the number of people served?” he suggests. The Ministry refutes that the work is a 2×1, arguing that “it is a new procedure.”
The main novelty of the new Andalusian regulatory framework is the reduction to a single visit to the home of the person requesting dependency, since until now two visits were necessary (one for the assessment and the other for the preparation of the Individual Care Program – PIA), also unifying into a single administrative resolution recognizing the situation of dependency and the right to benefits. “We initially saw it as good, but we already warned that it was going to fail and it is failing. It is turning out to be chaos, a disaster,” summarize the PAPAD spokespersons.
Last spring, the Board approved an increase of 20 jobs in the staff of officials of the Ministry of Social Inclusion dedicated to processing the agency’s files. The total volume of employees dedicated to this area amounts to 268 professionals, highlighting that the personnel in charge of assessing the degree of dependency has the status of civil servants, as is the case of Lourdes Delgado, with a permanent position after a competition, although There is a majority in an interim situation and assigned to a Basic Zone of Social Services in the List of Jobs.
The Ministry intends to “free” from administrative tasks
“Our complaints fall on deaf ears. “They don’t listen to us,” laments the official, who points out that her demands have been supported by the Andalusian Council of Professional/Official Colleges of Social Work and that they are trying to increase synergies with the Federation of Andalusian Organizations for the Elderly (FOAM) and the Committee of Entities Representatives of People with Disabilities (CERMI-Andalusia). They also maintain contact with the unions, although the diversity in the type of personnel who works in the field (officials, labor, interim, agency staff…) “makes it difficult” for them to act in unison to defend their labor rights.
They had a recent clash with UGT, recalls the spokesperson in Cádiz for the PAPAD, as a result of an agreement of the class union with the Ministry in relation to the unified dependency procedure. In this agreement, according to the platform, “workers are held responsible for the slowness of the process, threatening them with the loss of productivity incentives if they do not meet unattainable objectives with current resources and times.” “The objectives established in the current agreement are unattainable, which is causing alarming levels of anxiety and stress among employees, not only affecting their well-being, but also compromising the quality and efficiency of the work performed,” denounces PAPAD, among many other issues. .
For the sources of the Ministry, who show their disagreement with the lack of time for the work entrusted to the employees, by virtue of the agreement with UGT “on Fridays they do not go out to make visits because they are dedicated to preparing reports and for preparatory tasks. of the visits of the following week, and for this they can call the families if they need it, the community social services, to study previous reports, to what they deem appropriate as professionals. What is sought is to free them from administrative tasks and allow them to focus on their work, on visits and prepare evaluations,” the Ministry details.
According to PAPAD, the delegation of tasks such as recording files and managing agendas, awarded to Sandetel and Tragsatec, has generated “unprecedented chaos” in the Andalusian dependency system. “We demand that these tasks be managed again by qualified technicians, who have the necessary knowledge and experience to guarantee efficient and quality work,” adding that “it is essential to reinforce personnel in all sectors of the system to guarantee a decent service.” and respectful of the rights of the applicants and the dignity of the workers.”
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