On 5 November, the Aula Magna room on the Barcelona Campus hosted the “People who care” session, which paid tribute to the work and tasks performed by caregivers that improve the quality of life of the elderly and dependent people every day.

Conducted by Marga Maldonado, head of the caregivers area at Qida, the event was attended by Dr Boi Ruiz, director of the UIC Barcelona University Institute of Patient Care, who gave the institutional welcome and emphasised that “we cannot talk about effective and comprehensive care for people with poor health without formalising and recognising the role of the professional caregiver.”

The first part of the session focused on the development of the home care sector, as well as the importance of the caregiver, with the participation of Oriol Fuertes, CEO and founder of Qida, and Julia Masip, psychologist at CSS Guinardo (Municipal Institute of Social Services of the Barcelona City Council). In his speech, Fuertes pointed out the advances and improvements for the caregiver collective and noted that “we must continue to build up the social status of the caregiver collective and help it attain fair working conditions, have access to training and personalised selection processes, as well as the sense of belonging to a collective that society values.” Masip emphasised the importance of making the figure of the caretaker socially visible since the demand and need for caregivers are increasing. He also stressed the importance of training, both for a greater appreciation from the professionals and improving the bond with the person being cared for and their family.

During the second part and under the title First-person experiences, professional and family caregivers explained the role they play as caregivers, and how they approach the different complex situations they encounter in their day-to-day lives. Monica Capella, expert in social health work and social reference at Qida followed with the presentation The Caregiver Syndrome. During her speech, she pointed out that the activity of caring for another person can create a situation of vulnerability and recommended learning to identify the symptoms associated with each condition and to get help as soon as possible when they are not able to handle it by themselves.