Sabine S. (45) was born with an open back, which led to physical and mental disabilities. Her parents, now retired, would like to organise a permanent place for Sabine to live. However, there is no suitable place for Mrs S. to live with her peers. This is because her bladder paralysis means she needs more care.
Gap in medical care in facilities for the disabled
For Achitz, the case highlights a systematic problem: "We keep coming across cases where people with disabilities need additional medical care. But the facilities for the disabled are not equipped for this, only for care." The Ombudsman Board has been drawing attention to this problem for years. "But the federal states have still not managed to close this gap. As a result, those affected don't even get a place in a facility and all the care and nursing work is left to relatives," criticises Achitz.
Sabine S. was offered a place in a retirement and nursing home instead. However, her parents refuse to have their daughter placed among senior citizens; and the Austrian Ombudsman Board has long been calling for the placement of young people in need of care in old people's and nursing homes to be stopped.
Misplacement of young people in old people's homes unacceptable
"No place at all or just a place in an old people's home - neither is acceptable and contradicts the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Austria has signed and which the federal and state governments must therefore comply with," says Ombudsman Achitz: "Sufficient facilities for people with disabilities must be equipped in such a way that medical care is also possible there."
Contradiction to the UN CRPD: Ombudsman Achitz criticises incorrect placement of young people in retirement and nursing homes