Menorca is looking for someone to care for its elderly.

Brick205,292 people, 16% of the Balearic Islands' population, are over 65 and are potential users of the publicly owned geriatric care network. The size of this group continues to grow year after year, increasing the need to strengthen their care both in nursing homes and in their own homes. This trend is most pronounced in Menorca, which has the oldest population in the Islands. The average age is 43.51 years, higher than in the rest of the archipelago and Spain, and the over-65 segment, comprising 18,351 people, represents 18% of the residents. In fact, the population of Menorcans over 85 has doubled since the beginning of the century. Menorca is also the island most affected by the lack of qualified professionals to adequately care for the elderly. The island's double insularity and the severe difficulty of accessing housing complicate the problem for the Administration, which cannot find enough staff to meet the current needs of its centers, let alone those under construction. New nursing homes, long awaited and almost ready to open, currently lack sufficient staff to guarantee their operation.

The Island Council is promoting various initiatives to ensure it will have the necessary personnel to open the three new residences next year, which are nearing completion. These include the one planned for the former Santiago barracks in Mahón and the first nursing homes in its history, which will serve the only two municipalities on Menorca that still lack this service: es Castell and es Migjorn Gran.

In total, a minimum of 86 new workers will be needed to ensure their operation: 36 at the Castell nursing home, 26 at the Migjorn nursing home, and another 24 at the Santiago nursing home. These will reinforce the existing staff of 82 at the current Consell Insular residence on Josep Anselm Cla Avenue. All 168 workers will be responsible for the 224 residents who will be cared for in the three new Menorca nursing homes.

It is already confirmed that the Santiago nursing home in Mahón will be managed directly by the Menorca Social and Healthcare Consortium, as it already manages the Ciutadella Social and Healthcare Center, with 85 employees. However, the other two municipalities have also requested that the Consell Insular place the new nursing homes under its management. In fact, the goal is for the entire residential social services network of Menorca to be managed by the Consortium within ten years. This means that the supramunicipal body, created in 2007 to manage the Santa Rita socio-health center, will eventually take over all municipal residences, as well as other island-wide facilities, such as the center for people with disabilities in Trepucó, Maó, and the center for people with physical disabilities that will be built soon. The management of the Home Care Service (SAD) and adapted transport will also be included, along with the procurement of necessary equipment and maintenance, which will streamline procedures and reduce costs. "The Consortium will thus become one of Menorca's major public companies," explains Vice President Carmen Reynés, "but always with the financial involvement and support of the municipalities, which will have to remain equally committed. The project is very ambitious, and the road ahead is long. So we will have to grow gradually." The Minister of Social Welfare admits that all nursing homes struggle to fill all the professional roles needed to cover staff absences and vacations, raising concerns that the opening of the new centers could be delayed for this reason. "What we must achieve is that, if there are delays, it will be due to administrative procedures or because the construction work hasn't been completed, but not due to a lack of staff," states Minister Reynés. To make this objective possible, they are working on "different avenues to broaden the pool of potentially available professionals." The aim is primarily to address the difficulty of accessing housing and to make the Catalan language requirement more flexible for all applicants. In this regard, a legal analysis is underway to determine whether to grant newly hired staff a three-year grace period to obtain the necessary Catalan language certificate, coinciding with the initial contract period before their positions become permanent. These longer initial contracts would also facilitate obtaining rental housing. Furthermore, the possibility of tendering for the use of apartments in several municipalities on the island or reserving some of the accommodations at the Sa Vinyeta hostel for these groups is also being considered. "The fundamental goal is to improve working conditions," the councilor emphasizes. "If we can make the positions more attractive and ensure their continuity, we can attract more people and guarantee them greater professional stability. We must also contribute to the Consortium's ability to manage a single job bank for all of Menorca and 'open up' professional profiles so that a wider range of groups can take on specific tasks. ~BK_SLT_NA These are the issues currently being raised in several municipal nursing homes. Residents of the Sant Lluís nursing home and their families are mobilizing against the deficiencies in the service provided by the concessionary company; the Ministry is urging them to plan a new future residence in the municipality."

If the necessary staff is secured, the waiting list for public long-term care placements will also decrease. The number of applications is currently approaching 400 people in Menorca, but not all are equally urgent in needing immediate placement in a care home. A screening carried out a few months ago by the Ministry of Social Welfare revealed that only 146 people, approximately 40%, would like to move into a care home immediately; another 48 prefer to wait, and the remaining 200 prefer home care so they can age at home. "In the long run, residential care will only be for dependent individuals who cannot care for themselves at home," emphasizes the Minister, who believes "it is necessary to strengthen all resources and services that allow our seniors to choose where they want to age and to do so with dignity." This implies "intensifying" the Home Help Service (SAD) and the support program launched years ago to alleviate the loneliness of the growing number of elderly people living alone.