The cry for help from KBO Brabant that elderly people living at home will receive too little care this summer has triggered a lot. Many people with home care problems have reported to Omroep Brabant. In their opinion, they receive insufficient help and are very concerned, just like the interest group. Ans van Boxtel from Zeeland once worked in healthcare herself, now she is dependent on it. She is one of many who have to do without the care they should receive. “This is very difficult.”
The 65-year-old Ans is not to be envied. In 2009 she was infected with the virus that causes Q fever. As if that wasn’t annoying enough, she also became one of the many people who had to deal with the chronic version. This means, among other things, a lot of fatigue and concentration problems. She was subsequently rejected. Her health did not improve after that, because she developed complaints in one of her eyes, followed by a mild cerebral infarction and problems in her legs.
“The nurse would like me to get more help, but no one is there.”
“I had to deal with more and more limitations, such as balance problems and headaches, but my husband and I can’t get around it with the help I get now. It often involves simple things, like putting on compression stockings. All very annoying. The nurse would like me to get more help, but there is no one,” says Ans, who remains positive despite the laundry list of inconveniences.
“There are people who have it much worse than me, for example I can still cycle a bit. But if from now on I have to take care of everything upstairs myself, then I have to divide the bed, the bathroom and the dusting over three days. I no longer have the energy to do that in a few hours,” she says.
De Zeeland understands the situation in which healthcare institutions have found themselves. “I therefore do not blame BrabantZorg. I also used to work as a domestic help and I know what it is like. It is very strange that I now have to ask for help from others, who are already having such a difficult time.”
“In a few months my help will stop, what then?”
Ans refers to the workload in healthcare, the staff shortage and the lack of appreciation. Matters that were also brought to the attention of KBO-Brabant this week. “Everything has been cut, no more people are joining and it will only get worse, I’m afraid. My assistant will retire in a few months. What does that mean to me? I don’t know, I really have no idea. BrabantZorg cannot simply open a glance with people who want to help in healthcare. That’s not how it works.”
Nevertheless, Ans has a solution: “Staff should be valued more. The work is not well paid, there is too much red tape. In my time I only had to fill out a piece of paper and hand it in. That is very different now.”
“There are too many people in the top of care.”
Ans has another suggestion with regard to remuneration: “I think there is an inverted pyramid in healthcare. There are too many people at the top and too few people who have to do the real work. Maybe office workers should put themselves in their shoes.”
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