The National Security Council which met this Wednesday afternoon has decided to allow, under strict conditions, one visit per week to rest homes and institutions for the disabled. A measure that arouses “a lot of misunderstanding and big questions about timing“on the side of cdH.
“The urgency today in nursing homes is to regain control of the epidemic. However, we are informed of the possibility of visits from next Monday, a measure for which we will have to set up a whole mechanism to ensure the safety of all“, pointed out François Desquesnes, the group leader of humanists in the Walloon Parliament.
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“We understand the human dimension of this measure, but for the time being, nursing homes are only being organized to cope with the disease. Now is not the time to add more“, he continued.
“Since this announcement, we have been bombarded with questions from people in the field. We will send these questions back to the Walloon Minister of Health“, Christie Morreale, tomorrow / Thursday during the first meeting of the special committee of the regional parliament devoted to the coronavirus, finally assured François Desquesnes.
Visits “humanly understandable”, but “risky in practice”
The president of the federation of rest homes (Femarbel), Marc Verbruggen, judged for his part that the federal decision was “risky“while the sector faces a lack of resources as well as a high risk of spreading the virus. The decision is however”humanly understandable“, according to the organization.
“This announcement is difficult to achieve“, judges the president. The personnel, the residents and the visitors of the care centers must be protected, insists Femarbel.
“While the nursing homes are already working in small numbers, the army is responsible for intervening … How will we be able to guarantee that the virus does not spread from the nursing home to the families of visitors and vice versa? Strict measures should have been implemented before announcing the opening to visitors“, adds Marc Verbruggen.
For the federation, the staff who are already overworked, will be even more in front, in addition, to manage these visits. The organization also regrets that neither the sector federations nor the regional ministers were consulted in the context of this decision.
“Incomprehensible” in Flanders
For its part, the Flemish dome of hospitals and healthcare organizations Zorgnet-Icuro judged the decision “incomprehensible“The organization advises health centers not to apply the measure and, until the situation has stabilized, not to authorize visits.
The Flemish Minister for Welfare, Wouter Beke, has already decided to postpone this measure in Flanders in order to prepare it well in concert and to apply it “thoughtful way“.
In Brussels, “implementation will come later”
The implementation of the resumption of visits to nursing homes, announced Wednesday after the National Security Council, will be “in concert with the actresses and actors in the field, as soon as possible“, assured the Brussels Minister of Health, Alain Maron, on Twitter.”Listening and flexibility will be essential“, he assured.
“The resumption of visits (under very strict conditions) to nursing homes will give hope and life to many residents“, added the Brussels Minister.
Questioned by the Belga agency, Alain Maron said that an order would be made in this direction, by Monday. “But the implementation will take place later“, he added, insisting on the consultation that will be conducted on this subject with the sector and with the federated entities concerned.
A possibility, not an obligation
These visits to nursing homes are a possibility, not an obligation, underlined the Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès during the newspaper spoken about the channel VTM.
Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon (N-VA), also present in the studio, acknowledged that the decision to resume visits, one person at a time per resident, had been taken without consultation with the sector.
This consultation on how things should unfold will take place in the coming days or weeks, according to the former federal minister. “It is not the purpose to allow infected persons to enter nursing homes“, he pointed out, adding that the measure concerns people who have been isolated for four weeks.
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