El Defensor del Pueblo (e.f.), Francisco Fernández Marugán, ha iniciado una actuación con ADIF sobre el servicio de acompañamiento para los menores que viajan solos en tren.

La Institución recibió la queja de un ciudadano al que no le dejaron acompañar a su sobrino menor de edad y que viajaba solo, a la puerta del tren con destino a Pamplona en la estación de Atocha.

El personal de ADIF adujo motivos de seguridad y además informó que no existía la posibilidad de que el menor fuera guiado hasta su asiento por el personal de la estación por lo que al final, éste tuvo que internarse en las instalaciones sin el acompañamiento de un adulto y buscar su tren sin ayuda.

Servicios voluntarios para las empresas

El servicio de acompañamiento de menores que viajan solos, ya sea en tren o en avión, es un asunto sobre el que la Institución ha intervenido en el pasado.

Por ejemplo, el hecho de que estos servicios sean voluntarios para las empresas ha motivado quejas de familias separadas con dificultades de mantener un régimen de visitas con ambos progenitores.

En opinión del Defensor, es necesario contar con facilidades para que el menor pueda viajar solo si se quiere garantizar adecuadamente el derecho de los niños y niñas cuyos padres viven separados a mantener el contacto con ambos.

La Institución considera esencial la existencia de los servicios de acompañamiento de menores y recuerda que la Carta de los Derechos Fundamentales de la Unión Europea (CDFUE) recoge el derecho de los menores a la protección y a los cuidados necesarios para su bienestar y a mantener de forma periódica relaciones personales y contactos directos con sus progenitores.

A Devon centenarian was threatened with eviction from her nursing home because of unpaid fees, despite both her family and the council paying for her care.

 A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation found the woman, who had dementia, had been living at the Swimbridge House Nursing home near Barnstaple and had been paying for her care privately. But when her funding ran low, the council stepped in to help pay for her care. At the same time, the woman’s family had paid in advance for her care, and for more than a month the nursing home received double payments.

An assessment of the woman’s needs found she required a 24 hour placement and she should remain at the home. The council started paying for the woman’s care, but at a lower rate than the woman had been paying. The care provider was not happy with this reduction and wanted the council to agree a top-up.

The family decided the nursing home was no longer affordable, so asked the council to find a less expensive option. The council provided details of other homes which were affordable and had vacancies, but the council did not carry out a risk assessment of moving the woman to another home.

Because the council was not paying the home as much as the placement had cost the woman privately, the nursing home gave the family notice to quit claiming her account was in deficit.

The woman moved to a new care home. It was six months later before a final invoice showed the woman’s account had actually been in credit. A cheque was then sent to the family from the care provider, in October 2019.  Sadly the woman died in the same month.

The Ombudsman’s investigation found the council did not reach an agreement with the care home on the amount paid for the woman’s placement, or consider paying more than it would normally to keep the placement because of the potential impact on her wellbeing of moving her.

The investigation also found fault with the way the council failed to discuss a third-party top-up payment with the family, and did not tell the family what they needed to do once the council took over responsibility for the care and payments.

The care home was criticised for continuing to enforce the private contract after it started accepting payments from the council, and for serving a notice of eviction to the woman without trying to do more to resolve the payment issues.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“Because of the failings I have found by both the council and care home, a woman – who was more than 100 years old – had to find a new home without anyone assessing what impact this might have on her.

“This case is a stark reminder of what can go wrong when councils do not have robust policies in place for when people move from self-funded to council-funded care. Had the council focused on a person-centred approach, rather than look simply at its balance sheet, this woman may not have had to move.

“I am pleased both the council and care home have accepted my recommendations to improve their processes and procedures, and note the council has already developed an action plan to put things right.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s role is to remedy injustice and share learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to complete a new financial assessment for the woman, taking into account she had paid in advance for the care home. If it finds her savings fell below the threshold and she was eligible for financial assistance, it should refund any money owing to her estate.

The council will also apologise to the daughter and pay her £250 for her time and trouble and distress.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to review its procedures around transition from self-funded to council-funded care to ensure similar problems do not happen again. It will also ensure all staff are aware of the requirements to carry out a risk assessment where there are funding issues and a service user may need to move to a new placement.

The care home has agreed to apologise to the woman’s daughter and pay her £250 for the avoidable distress caused as a result of having to find her mother a new care home. It should also review the terms and conditions in its contracts to cover the circumstances where a resident becomes eligible for council funding to prevent similar problems recurring.

Article date: 05 August 2021

El Síndic ha conseguido que la Conselleria de Igualdad y Políticas Inclusivas acepte su recomendación de reconocer la revisión del grado de discapacidad desde la misma fecha de presentación de la solicitud. Así concluye el expediente de una ciudadana que denunciaba que su madre había solicitado la revisión de grado de discapacidad por agravamiento el 11/11/2020 y el 23/03/2021 recibió la resolución dictada por la Conselleria renociéndole un grado del 76%, aunque que la fecha de efectos de la misma era la de la resolución y no la de presentación de la solicitud.

La normativa vigente (Real  Decreto  1971/1999,  de  23  de  diciembre) indica expresamente que el reconocimiento de grado de discapacidad se produce desde la fecha de solicitud. Sin embargo, para la Conselleria esta norma no concreta la fecha de efecto en los casos de revisión de grado. Por eso elevó consultas al IMSERSO, y a la espera de la contestación interpretó que, en este supuesto, la fecha de efectos sería la misma fecha de resolución.

Desde esta institución mostramos nuestro desacuerdo con la interpretación, y urgimos a la Administración a revocar la resolución de marzo y a dictar otra nueva con efectos desde la presentación de la solicitud de revisión de grado de discapacidad.

La Conselleria ha aceptado nuestra petición, pero lamentablemente la persona afectada ha fallecido.  Gracias a la reclamación de su hija, a partir de ahora muchas personas en su misma situación tendrán reconocidos sus derechos desde la fecha de la solicitud.

Consulta la resolución del Síndic sobre este asunto.

It is with profound sadness that the Court of Justice of the European Union has to announce the death of Mr Barna Berke, judge of the General Court of the European Union.

Born in 1966, Mr Berke was a lawyer at the Budapest bar and a legal adviser at the Hungarian Parliament during the process for Hungary’s accession to the European Union. Moreover, he was Vice-President of the Gazdasági Versenyhivatal (Competition Authority, Hungary) and Chairman of the Versenytanács (Competition Council, Hungary). He was subsequently appointed State Secretary for European and International Judicial Cooperation at the Ministry of Justice of Hungary. He was judge at the General Court from 19 September 2016. Press contact: Jacques René Zammit  (+352) 4303 335

Le Médiateur, M. Naim Qelaj, a rencontré jeudi les représentants d’organisations non gouvernementales s’occupant d’activités dédiées aux personnes handicapées.

Ils ont discuté du travail et des activités des organisations pour les personnes aveugles, les personnes sourdes, les enfants autistes et trisomiques, et en particulier des problèmes qu’ils rencontrent dans leur travail.
M. Qelaj a déclaré que le travail des organisations de la société civile est important et vital pour une société démocratique, qui sont des moteurs pour l’amélioration et la promotion des droits de l’homme dans le pays.
Le Médiateur a également salué l’engagement des personnes émigrées et leur contribution apportée aux personnes handicapées, soulignant le travail de Mme Shqipe Kryeziu, en tant que représentante d’une association en Suisse qui a apporté beaucoup d’aide à cette communauté.

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