Ombudsman: Retirement homes discriminate

Brno, March 13 (CTK) - Three quarters of Czech facilities for seniors write on their websites that they will not admit persons treated for a mental disease or people who had problems with alcohol sometimes in their life, which is bad and the ombudsman's office will deal with this, it said yesterday.

Marie Lukasova, from the office, said special attention will be mainly paid to persons suffering from dementia.

The office will concentrate on the Internet on which "three quarters of regional facilities for old people mention certain health conditions as a problem for admission even though they need not be connected with a behaviour ruling out collective coexistence," Lukasova said.

The ability of collective coexistence is a law-embedded condition for admission.

Representatives of the omdubdsman's office will pay 12 unheralded visits to old people's homes by July, Lukasova said.

Ombudsman Pavel Varvarovsky said old people are reluctant to complain. "They often fear that this will be used against them," he said.

"We want to focus mainly on people afflicted with dementia," Lukasova said.

She said the office wants to concentrate in the facilities on certain things, including prevention of unmanaged pain, enough privacy and placement in a facility in spite of disagreement of the person concerned.

She said dementia-suffering people constitute up to 40 percent of people in the facilities.

According to data of the International Clinical Research Centre (ICRC) in Brno, the number of dementia patients will double every 20 years.

The ICRC says early diagnosing is important because it can extend the period of self-reliance and life of the patients.

Ombudsman has looked into care of old people several times in the past. Last year he found shortcomings in two facilities that also cared for dementia patients.