Alicante assures better home help services for the next three years

This comes after a new contract has been signed and a larger budget has been approved

The Alicante Department of Social Action has started the new year on a good foot by informing the citizenry that its Home Help Service (HHS), which provides domestic care for infirm and elderly people in need has been boosted up with a new budget and a new contract for the next 3 years

Currently, this service helps out 755 beneficiaries in the Spanish city and the budget set aside just for the current year amounts to 2.6 million euros.

The COVID pandemic has exacerbated the need for domestic help services

The relevant authorities have also informed that the HHS has updated its technical equipment and capabilities in order to better respond to the needs of its clients. That means that in recent weeks more orthopaedic lifts, articulated beds and chairs, adjustable backrests and wheelchairs have been acquired.

“The Home Help Service is one of the main benefits deployed by the Social Action council in support of elderly people, dependents, as well as certain families in need, in order to contribute to a more bearable existence and so that these people can continue to reside in their homes, in their own neighbourhood, in a familiar environment, which in turn prevents having to move them to care centres or nursing homes,” said Julia Llopis, Councillor of Social Action.

The HHS provide holistic services which extend beyond health, therapy and hygiene. These also include house cleaning, grocery shopping, preparing meals and providing company on outings outside of one’s home, such as going for walks.

That is why the HHS is divided into three areas: personal, domestic and educational. The latter of these is aimed at people who need guidelines for proper daily habits, schedules, diets, etc.

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for such services has increased, which has, in turn, caused the local administration to ask for larger financial support from the Government of the Valencian region.