Better quality and dignity of care

In anticipation of the European Commission’s proposal for a Long-Term Care (LTC) Strategy, expected to be presented in September 2022, Caritas Europa has prepared this position paper to highlight our main concerns and recommendations.

Based on the experiences of our members in their different roles as care providers, policy advisers and advocates of people in situations of vulnerability, we call, first and foremost, on the EU and its Member States to revamp and invest in the social care sector.

We also call for an enabling EU care framework and strategy that sets the standard and guides Member States on social care delivery at the national level. Such a framework should have a two-pronged approach, taking into account 1) the quality and dignity of care, as well as 2) the quality and decent working conditions of care workers. It should be based on an EU vision of quality care that places the individual at the centre and it should address the many different care challenges that currently exist (see in the annex all the different joint position papers we have contributed to that highlight these challenges).

Finally, we are convinced that care services should enable persons with support needs to live independently, to be active, to participate fully in society and to have their dignity respected. Quality care and support services must respond to the individual needs of those drawing on such services, and such services should be provided in complementarity with other services through an integrated approach by delivering seamless transitions between social care, healthcare, housing and employment, among others. Delivering quality services can naturally only be guaranteed by investing in staff to ensure quality and quantity.