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

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.