Brussels, 31/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - In an effort to have a better insight into the lives of disabled people receiving hospital care in Europe and to help find solutions, the European Commission has funded a study on community-based services. The study - 'Deinstitutionalisation and Community Living - Outcomes and Costs' - was carried out by the University of Kent (Tizard Centre) and the London School of Economics.
It confirms that institutional care Europe is often of unacceptably poor quality and recommends a wider use of quality, community-based services, which offer better quality of life to people with disabilities, without necessarily costing more and which can help them feel like real citizens.
A Commission press release indicates that sometimes the conditions in institutional care may represent serious breaches of internationally accepted human rights standards, as witnessed by recent media reports (for example, about Bulgaria).
Information: (http: //ec.europa.eu/employment_social/index/7002_en.html). (G.B)