Director Mieke Damsma of Hospice Het Alteveer in Assen is worried about the future. The Hague looks at whether it can cut back on the subsidies for Hospices. Together with all national hospices, she makes a call for more money. People with a life expectancy of less than three months stay in a hospice.
There is room for six guests in the Alteveer. Eighty volunteers work together with care staff to guide the residents towards a worthy end of their lives. The volunteers are not only there for guests, but also for the caregivers. Damsma: “Our volunteers take care of the care. As a result, the caregivers become the partners, daughters, sons or friends again.”
“Even if you are dealing with volunteers, we are still a 24-hour organization. Without volunteers that is not possible. We must ensure that food and drink is that the rooms are in order, that there is clean. That the stay is possible. That is not for nothing. In addition to being donations, we have a structural subsidy from the Ministry of VWS,” explains.
There is no clarity yet that the current subsidy will be continued after next year. While there is increasing demand for the care that a hospice offers. “Research has shown that we will need more hospice care in the coming years. We also notice here that it is getting busier, but the amount that we get has remained the same. If that continues, we can no longer get it around as Hospices.”
At the moment there is no waiting list for the Hospice in Assen. Nationally this is already a problem.
In order to guarantee survival, Damsma looks at politics The Hague: “We are calling politics not to cut back on hospice care. In fact, money has to be added to ensure that all Dutch people, regardless of background and financial facilities, must be available.”