In 2023, the office of the public defender (ombudsman) of Georgia published the results of monitoring private nursing homes in the country. According to the report, the infrastructure of some of these institutions is lacking, and their residents live in harsh, unsanitary, and dignity-degrading conditions.
Key findings of the monitoring:
● The ombudsman emphasizes that the state is inadequately informed about private nursing homes. There are no legal norms for the operation of such institutions, and they are not subject to state control. Furthermore, the management of these establishments is unaware of the established minimum standards for elderly care.
● Regarding hygiene, the ombudsman’s office states that “care is primarily limited to meeting their hygienic and physiological needs, which does not even meet the minimum care requirements.” The monitoring revealed that the elderly often face discrimination, find themselves in situations that degrade their dignity, and most are uninformed about their rights. Healthcare in these facilities is neglected. Nutrition standards are violated: the diet is meager, inadequate, and monotonous.
● The review revealed that the rights of the elderly are infringed upon right from the start, particularly during the enrollment process in nursing homes. Often, the elderly’s own wishes are not clearly stated in the enrollment forms, and typically, a family member ends up signing these documents instead.
● The provided services fail to consider the emotional fragility of the elderly, with insufficient attention paid to their mental well-being.
● The public defender also highlights staff-related issues, including qualifications and labor rights:
“The staff lacks specific knowledge about elderly care and their needs, as well as opportunities for professional growth. Additionally, there are violations in the allocation of benefits, resulting in some employees being overloaded with work.”
● In concluding the report, the ombudsman emphasizes that these findings reaffirm the urgency of implementing his recommendations for “the establishment of uniform national care standards and an effective mechanism to monitor the operations of elderly care facilities across various organizational and financial structures.”
