Madrid/Oviedo (EFE).- Asturias is one of the only five autonomous communities that presents a surplus of residential places for the elderly, according to an analysis carried out by the Association of Directors and Managers of Social Services, which sets the ratio of five places as a target for every hundred people over 65 years of age.
With data from 2021, the Principality would have a surplus of 1,580 beds, while Extremadura would have a surplus of 3,872; Aragon, 4,499; Castilla-La Mancha, with 7,102, and Castilla y León, with 17,503.
At the other extreme would be Andalusia, with a deficit of 31,475 places; Valencian Community, of 23,485; Galicia, of 14,072; Catalonia, with 10,701, and the Canary Islands, with 8,709.
The study reflects that in Asturias there are 3.14 publicly financed jobs for every hundred over 65s and 2.43 privately financed, compared to the national average of 2.63 and 1.57, respectively.
In 2020, the number of parking spaces increased in the Principality from 14,979 to 15,130, of which 8,579 were public, 56.4 percent of the total, and 6,643, private, 43.6 percent.
In Spain the deficit continues to increase
In the country as a whole, despite the fact that in 2021 there were 2% more places in residences than a year earlier (7,766 more places), the deficit in residential places continues to increase as a result of the increase in the number of older people.
According to the latest data published by Imserso, at the end of 2021 there were 397,443 residential places for the elderly in Spain, of which 62.7% are publicly financed (in public centers and arranged in private).
After the stagnation of 2020, in 2021 an increase of 2% was registered, insufficient to cover the needs of the elderly since 76,350 would be necessary to meet the WHO criteria of 5 places for every 100 people over 65 years of age or at least 35,000 to meet the current demand of people in Severe Dependency or Large Dependents.
These are data from the analysis carried out by the Association of Directors and Managers of Social Services on the situation of residences for people over two years of the covid-19 pandemic, with an average of 4.2 places for every 100 elderly people.
«Residences continue to be a great need in our country, due to the increase in the elderly population and in situations of dependency and need for long-term care. For this reason, despite the increase in residential places, its deficit continues to increase”, explains José Manuel Ramírez, president of the association.
More than 140,000 dependent people waiting
If in 2014 there were 53,103 jobs missing to reach the 5% ratio, in the last year this deficit reached 76,350, alerts the report.
According to the statistics of the Dependency Care System, there are more than 140,862 people waiting (80,862 already assessed with Grade II and III and more than 60,000 pending assessment), of which one in four would demand a residential service in a public square , concerted or economic benefit linked to that service.
Hence the estimate that some 35,000 residential places would be necessary just to meet the demand on the dependency’s waiting list, Ramírez points out.
stagnation of public squares
The percentage of publicly financed places has increased slightly, but has stagnated in the last three years, at 2.63 places for every 100 people over 65 years of age.
The communities with the greatest coverage of publicly financed places are Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha, followed by Extremadura and Aragón. At the other extreme are the Canary Islands and the Valencian Community, which do not reach 1.5%.
Madrid is the only region where exclusively private places have a higher coverage (2.53%) than publicly financed places (1.83%), which shows the growth of the residential sector in 2021, although insufficient to cover demand.
Although between 2010 and 2021 the number of people over the age of 65 has increased by 1.7 million people, the number of residential places has only increased by 28,638.
The association demands that Imserso propose an agreement to the Territorial Council to set a more appropriate ratio for today’s society, since now the population is considered to be 65 years of age or older and the average age expectancy in Spain is around 85 years. EFE
