There is a waiting list in almost 9 out of 10 residential care centers in Flanders. In half of the residential care centers, new residents even have to go through a waiting period of between 3 months and 1 year. This is evident from a survey by CD&V among 292 Flemish residential care centers. According to Flemish Member of Parliament Katrien Schryvers, there is a threat of an “unprecedented capacity shortage”. She urges the competent Minister of Welfare Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) to intervene. According to Minister Gennez, the problem is not in capacity, but in the distribution of places.
Journalist at HLN
Source: Belga
Not only is the cost of residential care centers becoming a problem for more and more people, the ruling party CD&V also warns of an impending shortage of places. Our own survey shows that almost 9 in 10 residential care centers work with a waiting list and that in most cases the waiting times vary between 1 month and 12 months. Furthermore, only 1 in 3 residential care centers indicate that they believe their capacity will be sufficient to meet the increasing demand.
Member of Parliament Schryvers is “seriously concerned”. In addition, the growth in additional capacity has been slow and that several residential care centers have also been closed in recent months, with the associated loss of housing units. According to Schryvers, everything must be done to avoid additional closures, for example through better remediation processes and the appointment of crisis managers.
Recognition calendar
The CD&V politician also urges Gennez to intervene and work on a new recognition calendar. Based on demographic forecasts, this calendar determines how many additional housing facilities can be added annually in and by the residential care centers.
Schryvers also believes that residential care centers should be given more autonomy in determining their offering. For example, they could convert short-stay places into permanent places in the residential care center and vice versa. “This flexibility allows them to better respond to demand, such as an increased need for short stays during the summer holidays,” Schryvers explains. “Currently, switching between places is not possible.”
“Thousands of additional places”
In a response, Minister Gennez qualifies CD&V’s cry for help. The occupancy is currently 94 percent and the capacity is also “steadily expanding”. “Thousands of places will be added in the coming years. The problem is not so much the capacity, but the distribution of the places,” it said.
“That is why it is important that we work with the sector and local authorities to see where the needs are and where we need to step up. Because we want everyone to be able to go in his or her neighborhood,” says the minister.
The minister herself wants to submit her plans for capacity expansion to the government soon. “We are also working on a system whereby places that are lost due to closure or bankruptcy can immediately be used elsewhere in the sector. This has not been possible until now,” it said.