Nursing Homes as a means of social protection of the people in the early post-war years

Abstract

In the given article on the basis of archival sources and published literature the author cosiders the
functioning of social assistance institutions, their role in organizing assistance in the rehabilitation
of disabled people in the early post-war years.
Nursing homes provided the people in need with some vital facilities: home, food, clothes,
medicine. The need for treatment and psychological support involved having the staff of qualified
professionals, but due to very low salaries and rather harsh working conditions many institutions
were not staffed with fully qualified general medical workers let alone doctors. The lack of qualified
personnel resulted in the poor level of educational work.
Nursing homes tried to solve the problems of irregular supply of food and food shortages by means
of farming on the premises, but that, too, proved ineffective through lack of farming equipment. The
food grown by the disabled, besides its apparent use in the homes’ dining-rooms, was partly given to
the government. Moreover, despite the limited abilities, the charges worked in workshops.
The study of material and household problems leads to the conclusion that the housing stock of
the institutions in the early post-war years was in an extremely decrepit condition. In spite of limited
investment it was not uncommon that the funds were not applied efficiently