Councilor Rieja Raven was scolded on Tuesday evening in the Care and Welfare committee. The WMO council Midden-Drenthe was not actively included in the council’s process plans to re-indicate hundreds of customers who receive domestic help. Not wise, as Raven also acknowledged afterwards.
In January, councilor Rieja Raven announced that all residents in Central Drenthe who receive domestic help through the WMO will receive a new assessment. This year, all existing clients will be visited who have been assessed according to the old standards framework.
Communication
Good communication is important in this process, says councilor Raven. First, the residents receive a letter, then a kitchen table discussion, where an analysis and decision is made and the file is concluded with a telephone conversation.
The manpower that the municipality has available for all re-indications is not enough and that is why the municipality has to hire externally. Cost: two tons. The year 2024 is used as a transition year so that from 2025 all indications are assessed according to the same protocol. It has been calculated that an adjustment of five to ten minutes per indication can result in annual savings from 2025 of at least € 100,000 to a maximum of € 200,000 per year.
Appropriate help
This looks like a cutback in healthcare. Still, Raven says anyone who needs it should get appropriate help. Ageet van Dijken (Christian Union): “It reassures me that people’s needs are being carefully examined. What remains with me is that people simply receive less help.”
Worrying
The OMD, VVD and Gemeentebelangen/BBB factions found it worrying that the WMO council had not been actively included in the council’s proposal. Egbert Kraal (CDA) noted that the council is returning to indications that have already been issued. In the context of a reliable government, this is disappointing: “I note that the council gives more weight to the principle of equality and I have not got that far yet.”
The municipal council will consider the council’s proposal on March 21.