Social Welfare joins the claim of AERBECO and urges more human resources at Fernando Madroñal Center

The Department of Social Welfare, led by Angela Llorca, has joined the vindication of the Association of Rare Diseases of Benidorm and Region (AERBECO), which for several months is collecting signatures to provide more human resources to Fernando Madroñal Bae Center in Alicante, which is in charge of the evaluation and orientation of disability degrees.

This center, dependent on the Conselleria d'Igualtat i Polítiques Inclusives, bears delays in assessments of up to two years, with "the serious damage that is generating to people who need an urgent assessment to be able to choose resources that improve their conditions and quality of life, "said Llorca.

Hence, AERBECO requests "that the disability assessment process be expedited for cases of an urgent nature (...), as has already been done in the province of Valencia." The president of the association, Juan Miguel Martínez, explained that "urgent cases" would be those referred to "diseases that affect children, always after six months once they receive the diagnosis; children and adults who do not have diagnoses but who are in the study phase and their daily life is very limited as a result of the symptoms they suffer; revision of the degree of disability due to the patient's deterioration; and adults who have a serious affectation and it is the first time they are going to begin the process ".

The Councilor for Social Welfare explained that "as they move us from AERBECO, these delays also occurred previously in the center that is responsible for these assessments in the province of Valencia, a circumstance that was corrected with the addition of more staff." "And that is precisely what is being claimed for the province of Alicante," he added.

Llorca indicated that "also the City Councils encounter inconveniences because of that lack of means, since it is very complicated to be able to contact with the personnel of the center Fernando Madroñal to know the state of the cases that affect people of our city or to any type of consultation or procedure. "

The councillor recalled that it is the social workers of the municipalities who have the first contact with people with disabilities and those who apply for valuation to the center of Alicante. Subsequently, people are cited to be evaluated by a team consisting of: doctor, psychologist and social worker. In this evaluation the degree of disability is fixed. "The problem is that since the City Councils request the assessment until it takes place is more than a year, there are even delays of 24 months," he said.

Last May Aerbeco, with authorization from the Department, installed in three days different information tables for the collection of signatures in La Palmera, the Market and the Municipal Street Market. Since then, the collection of signatures has been kept alive and to date the association has achieved nearly a thousand supports.

The president of Aerbeco indicated that "our intention is to deliver these signatures personally in the center and to the territorial director of the area".

People interested in supporting this claim can do so through the signature sheets that Aerbeco has delivered in the social centers of Benidorm, at the headquarters of the Department of Social Welfare and at the point of accessible beaches of Poniente.