26 April, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Every residential care home in the Vitebsk region must have patrons. This instruction was given today at a meeting of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee by its Chairman, Alexander Kosinets, BELTA correspondent reports. There are 15 residential care homes in the region with 3.4 thousand beds, including five general type homes for the elderly and disabled with 765 beds, and 10 psychoneurological type homes with 2.6 thousand beds. Reconstruction of four such social institutions is currently underway. Br50 billion is allocated from the Social Protection Fund of the Population for repair and construction work in 2012. Br5.7 billion is planned for strengthening the material and technical base of residential care homes from the regional budget. An additional Br4.5 billion has been allocated from the regional budget for the purchase of equipment and transport. At the same time, the depreciation of the motor transport of residential care homes is 80%, and medical equipment has not been updated for the last 12 years. To ensure the normal functioning of residential care homes, an additional Br5 billion is required. In the opinion of the governor, large industrial and agricultural enterprises are capable of providing material and financial assistance to residential care homes. "Patrons must be assigned to each residential care home so that the elderly live with dignity," stressed Alexander Kosinets. -0-

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