The Union of Workers in Public and Social Functions of the South and Autonomous Regions (STFPSSRA) warned today of the lack of nurses and employees in a home managed by the Living Care Association, in Câmara de Lobos, Madeira.
“The home operates with minimal services all year,” said the union’s regional coordinator, Nelson Pereira, noting that the schedule assigns one direct care worker to a wing with 20 residents and two to another with 40, on a four-month rotation.
Nelson Pereira was speaking at a press conference next to the Living Care Home, in Câmara de Lobos.
We’re facing a shortage of nurses, and we believe Social Security is to blame. Why? Because they came in and decided that since this is a home for people with moderate dependence, our staff could be reduced from eight to four. He also pointed out that there’s no nursing care at night because there simply aren’t any nurses to provide it.
The Living Care Home in Câmara de Lobos is managed by the Living Care Association, a private social solidarity institution responsible for three elderly units in Madeira, with a total of 501 residents and 412 workers.
The Câmara de Lobos unit welcomes 60 residents and has about 40 workers, and between 2018 and 2024 operated under a “high dependence” classification. This was then downgraded to moderate, which meant a reduction in staff and the blocking of any further recruitment.
Social Security’s decision to change the classification of the home is related to the institution’s source of funding, which was transferred from the Autonomous Region Budget to the State Budget.
The Union of Workers in Public and Social Functions of the South and Autonomous Regions also cautioned about enforcing a four-month shift schedule. “This is completely outdated in every way, especially at a time when we are all talking, Government and institutions, about reconciling professional, family, and personal life,” said Nelson Pereira.
