„This entire operation in illegal nursing homes was prepared for more than a month with the Minister of Justice and the full support of the Prime Minister. The problems have been going on for years, but no one has dared to enter these places that have nothing to do with the state. Our actions have not stopped – 16 inspections were carried out in just two days. On Friday, there was an inspection in the „Yuliana“ Home, where it all started. We have nearly 500 inspections in 5 months. For the entire past year, there have been 904. The intensity is much higher
This was stated by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov in „The Day Begins with Georgi Lyubenov“ on BNT. He added that so far 230 people have been removed from illegal homes. Another 7 people who need very specialized care are about to be placed.
Minister Gutsanov expressed concern that out of 230 adults, only 38 have been taken from their families: “This is 17 percent. I am opening a topic about morality.“
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is already working to solve the problem of the shortage of places in social services. This is happening in several directions.
“We are currently renovating 81 out of 82 state-funded homes. They are for 5,600 people. We managed to save over 400 million leva under the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan, with which this activity is carried out. We provide the money to the mayors and they carry out the repairs and public procurement. The mayor is closest to the people and knows what needs to be done“, explained Gutsanov.
Opportunities are also being sought for the establishment of new social services for the elderly. A meeting is to be organized with the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, where an overview of the existing building stock that can be used for the purpose will be made.
„The inspections will continue, there will be no illegal guest houses, rooms for rent. No one has the right to mess with the elderly“, he added. We are already working hard on legal changes that will help the inspectors from the Agency for the Quality of Social Services, because at the moment they do not have the authority to enter these illegal homes. The illegal provision of social services will be criminalized.
„From July 1, pensions are increasing by 8.6 percent. I am glad that we were able to do it. "In 9 days this will happen," Minister Gutsanov also said. The average pension will be about 120 leva higher than last year.