"Left to fend for themselves": Home care service crisis in the Canary Islands.

"We are left to fend for ourselves!" – this is the cry of despair from people who use the Home Help Service (SAD). In recent weeks, they have been suffering from a lack of assistants who are supposed to come to their homes.

"We are sick, lonely, and need daily help. But now our visits are either postponed or the time is reduced. Because of this, we can go without food, the ability to wash, or take medication for several days," several victims complained to the DIARIO DE AVISOS newspaper.

There is currently chaos in this service, which is managed by the company Atende (a contractor of the Municipal Institute of Social Assistance IMAS). Many employees are sick or on leave, and new ones, as soon as they start working, quit, the SAD company committee reported.

The head of IMAS, Sharin González, explained: "Services are provided, but it is true that there are employees on leave, so the schedule changes. We provide personal hygiene, but there have been problems with cleaning. I won't say that everything is perfect, because it is not. But we are working to change the management system and improve services."

The deputy added: "Perhaps it would be easier to work in the old way, with fewer conflicts with trade unions. But we decided to improve the situation, and we are working on it now."

However, despite the statements of officials and trade unions, the reality for SAD users is quite different. Here is the story of María de los Ángeles. She lives in Añaza and has been using the Home Help Service since 2023. At that time, she developed shingles, which covered her entire body. The disease, for which there is no cure, has almost completely immobilized her, and she needs constant oxygen. "I feel abandoned and helpless. I don't know who to turn to. I call the company coordinator, and she just refuses to help," the woman complains.

María de los Ángeles said that she was prescribed weekly home help, but now she hardly gets it. Previously, she had a permanent assistant: on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday – for an hour and a half, on Wednesday and Friday – for two hours, and on Saturday – for one hour. But now this is not the case. Yesterday, she was promised that another employee would come in the morning, but at 1:00 p.m. no one showed up.

"I am without breakfast, lying on the couch where I sleep and spend the whole day alone. It is difficult for me to move, I can only get up briefly to go to the bathroom. My husband is in the hospital, he had his legs amputated, and my daughter lives in Barcelona. No one can help me. And the assistants do not come on the days and hours they are supposed to," the woman says.

She feels confused. "This has never happened to me before. I don't know if it's the coordinator's personal attitude, or if it's true that the company doesn't have employees, as they say. I have made an appointment with social services to help me find a solution, but I will only be seen on October 30. And what will happen to me until then?" María asks.

And there are many such cases. Miriam and Moisés are the children of other victims. Their mother and father are bedridden, and, according to them, they have been practically left without help in Santa María del Mar. Miriam said: "My mother is supposed to have an assistant from Monday to Thursday for one hour, and on Friday for three, because she needs morphine and constant oxygen. Now she is abandoned because no one comes, or they come for less time, or they change the assistant without warning."

The woman emphasized: "I have already filed complaints with both the company and IMAS, because it is unbearable. They say that there are not enough employees, and now more than 28 people are on sick leave. I work in a hospital and cannot constantly take care of my mother. And she is left without breakfast and the opportunity to wash." The same thing is happening to Moisés' father, who is also bedridden and does not receive daily care.

The company committee of the Home Help Service (SAD) is convening a meeting of Atende employees on September 25. There, they plan to organize protests to draw attention to the unstable work in which about 300 employees, mostly women, find themselves.

"We are going to announce a strike or demonstration to draw attention to ourselves. Because labor rights are not respected, and we are even subjected to sexual harassment by users. And cleaning in homes often takes place in unsanitary conditions, among cockroaches, bedbugs, or rats. We have already filed a lawsuit in court for non-compliance with the collective agreement by the company," the company committee, which includes USO, IC, and CC.OO., stated. They emphasize that "due to the company's poor service, users are left abandoned."