On Tuesday, the staff of the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office held a training session for the social workers of the regional social care institutions at the Macikai Social Care Home. The focus of the training was on international human rights standards and involved active participation in practical tasks illustrating how to apply these standards in the daily activities of the social workers.
Erika Leonaitė, the Head of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, who virtually opened the event, thanked Eugenijus Juodeikis, the Director of the Macikai Social Care Home, for his constructive cooperation in the organisation of the training sessions, as well as for his constructive attitude towards the recommendations made by the Seimas Ombudsperson, and efforts made in implement them. Ms Leonaitė wished the participants meaningful training, discussions and answers to concerns they have.
Valija Šap, the European Certified Psychologist in the clinical and health field, who gave a presentation on Psychologist’s Services in Social Care Institutions: Challenges and Opportunities, advised the staff of the care home on how not to burn out when providing services to the residents and why it is important to manage stress. In her presentation on stress management, the psychologist pointed out that stress is experienced not only by care home staff, but also by residents due to changes in their living conditions, trauma, losses, fear of death, and that managing stress and finding solutions to it helps to create a safer environment in care homes.
Encouraging employees of the care homes to think about human rights in their daily work, the staff of the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office presented a care model for residents based on the principles of human rights, which could encourage the participants to find solutions by applying the principles of autonomy, equality, dignity, respect and justice. Divided into groups, the social workers discussed how to practically solve specific everyday situations and how to find the most effective ways to solve the problem from a human rights approach.
The training also discussed the challenges of ensuring dignified living conditions in social care institutions, why it is important to guarantee privacy for the residents of care homes, how to take care of their employment, and how to motivate residents to participate in employment activities. The importance of involving residents in decision-making processes was discussed in the context of everyday situations. The training focused on issues of resident involvement and empowerment.
It should be emphasised that the training for the staff of social care institutions, organised by the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office and titled Human Rights Based Care of Persons in Social Care Institutions: Standards, Challenges, Practices is a continuous activity aimed at contributing to the improvement of the competences of the employees of the social care homes.
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