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3.3.8 Principle 18: Long-term care “Everyone has the right to affordable long-term care services of good quality, in particular home care and community based services.”
High-quality and properly funded public services are needed to ensure effective and timely access to longterm care across Europe. This must be combined with flexible and properly paid care leave arrangements for workers caring for family members.
To ensure the implementation of Principle 18 the PES and its partner organisations support the following policy proposals: ••The PES will continue to demand investment in affordable, high quality and accommodating care services for children, the elderly and other dependants.170 Increased public investment in quality long-term care could contribute to improved pay and working conditions in an area dominated by women. ••The EU must take measures to recognise, reduce and redistribute the unpaid long-term care work disproportionately done by women and guarantee the right to unionise. ••An integrated care model must be considered and included at EU level. To have effective and efficient long-term care, it is extremely important to consider integrated care systems, which includes coordination between health systems and social service systems. Most vulnerable people, especially people with disabilities, elderly and dependent, need both health care and social care. Thus, synergies must be created.
170 PES Congress Resolution Social Europe, Lisbon 2018, p. 5
