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The last 4Quality! regional seminar organised by EASPD took place in Vienna on 22 September. Delegates discussed working conditions and skills development, the quality of services delivered at home for dependent people, and service coordination. On behalf of the European Social Network (ESN), the German Federal Employment Agency, the department of health and social planning of the City of Vienna and the Czech Association of Social Care Providers participated in the discussions.

Service users’ involvement

Bernadette Feuerstein, Chairwoman of Independent Living Austria, kicked-off the meeting by detailing her experiences as a service user of personal assistants and stated “Nothing about us without us!” in reference to personal and household services (PHS). ESN has been working on the concept of service users’ choice and control and definesindependent living as the ability of people with disabilities to make choices and decisions about their lives and to enjoy the same degree of self-determination as non-disabled people. PHS can actually present an alternative to institutional care by allowing disabled or older people to stay athome while receiving the care and support they need.

National perspectives

During the discussions, delegates identified issues and challenges in the sector in their home countries on the basis of the three country reports that were produced before the seminar. German mini-jobs which concern social workers were criticised for replacing regular employment in the sector and preventing professionalism. Franz Wolfmayr, President of EASPD, presented the 24 hour home care scheme in Austria. Care givers who are not family members live in the home of the service user and perform PHS. The typical arrangement is with two workers working fortnightly in one household. Service users are generally satisfied with the quality of support provided, butworkers expressed concerns regarding the lack of privacy and the long working hours.

ESN delegate Jiří Horecký, President of the Association of Social Care Providers, emphasised the Czech view that it was key to improve workforce’s working conditions and increase support for informal carers. Unlike in Germany or Austria, the issue of undeclared migrant workers is marginal and the retention of workforce is effective. However, Mr. Horecky shared a concern for the need to modernise the overall provision of public services.

Next steps and follow-up

Participants will now send their input on the national reports and final versions will be available in November.
In the coming months, ESN will prepare practice examples for the final toolkit, which will feature concrete initiatives that were successful in improving service quality in PHS and/or supported workforce’s development. The toolkit aims to inspire and give guidance to other organisations working in the sector and to stakeholders at national and European levels.

For more information on the project and the European policy context, see our website.