Provide Home-based Care to Elderly People

Many aged people in Bulgaria live alone and have been abandoned by their relatives. Moreover, 57 % of the aging population in the country lives in poverty. Caritas Sofia reaches out to this particularly vulnerable group by providing comprehensive medical and social care. While the National Health Insurance still does not provide funds for medical home care, despite the growing need, Caritas Sofia supported mobile teams of nurses and social workers to provide home-based treatment and social services to the frail elderly. Some bedbound clients were visited up to three times per day, whereas others only needed one visit per week. In a day-care centre in the village of Pokrovan, hot meals and a space for social interaction are available for the elderly. Those who are not able to walk the distance from their home to the centre can make use of transportation.