ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed systemic imperfections with regard to institutional care in every country, which specifically included, and still includes, care aimed at older adults. This weakness is specifically visible in Polish social care facilities, for older persons and somatically ill people, and in hospices (both in stationary hospice facilities as well as hospice home care). Poland has introduced numerous legal regulations concerning social contacts to limit the spread of COVID-19 infections (i.e. maintaining social distancing, limiting the possibility to travel). These regulations applied and continue to apply to the society in general and lack procedures regulating the realm of institutional care aimed at older adults. Moreover, there is a lack of common standards and suggestions in this aspect. This problem, at least to some extent, results from the fact that the discussed institutions are monitored and/or run by local authorities and alternatively by legal entities. However, there is no single, central organ that would coordinate their activity. Additionally, staff working at the aforementioned institutions could not manage the situation and, in fact, preferred to limit the accessibility and physical contact with the institutions and residents, rather than establish procedures to be followed. Apart from the existing epidemic threat, this situation caused a significant dysfunction of social relations. It turned out that even the closest members of a family could not directly contact their older relatives, as well as provide support with the realisation of vital functions and maintain relationships within a family. This internal closure of facilities also meant the inability to use services of the institutions (for instance, stationary hospice facilities) by people who found themselves in a situation requiring urgent support during the pandemic period. All of the mentioned aspects contributed to the deterioration not only of the quality of institutional care but also the condition (both physical and psychological) of older adults – who take advantage of the 261aforementioned support. This situation has shown that it is imperative to elaborate common standards in care aimed at older adults during a crisis for the future. They could be recognised either as guidelines or in the form of legal regulations. Fundamentals of such standards were proposed in this chapter.
