The Groningen care institutions Lentis GGZ and Dignis are going to separate. ,,In terms of content, it has not been a happy marriage”, says Arien Storm, chairman of the board of directors of Lentis.
Four years ago, the four-member board already realized that it would be better if the paths of the two care institutions were to separate. Partly due to corona, it took quite some time before the unbundling was realized. It will be finalized this month. As of January 1, 2024, both organizations with their head office in Zuidlaren will independently make a restart.
Lentis GGZ offers mental health care in Groningen to approximately 22,000 clients with 2,200 FTEs. The annual turnover is 220 million euros. The Groningen elderly care organization Dignis is a lot smaller with a turnover of 80 million euros, 850 FTEs and 650 residents in nursing homes. Dignis also includes home care.
Nothing will change for the current clients and residents for the time being, says Lentis director Arien Storm. Some of the staff will be able to stay in place, while others will be able to express their preference for one of the two organizations through an interest register. Everyone keeps their job.
‘Scale was fashionable at the time’
Both institutions merged in 2007, the period of market forces. According to Storm, this happened at the time because there was a desire for an increase in scale, partly motivated by financial motives. “It was fashionable at the time. The world was different than it is now.”
But the two organizations turned out not to be a good match. “The added value of the merger is quite limited,” says director Leo Wanders, who will continue at Dignis. Lentis GGZ, which offers multiple psychological care in a broad field, is much more complex than Dignis. This is also reflected in the workforce. Lentis mostly employs highly trained psychologists and psychiatrists, while Dignis mainly employs elderly carers at senior secondary vocational education level.
According to director Inge Pesch, who will also continue at Dignis, the support services of both institutions ‘need more focus’. “We have to act faster on the complex reality, which is different for elderly care than for mental health care. At this time, Dignis needs more cooperation with partners in the VVT (Nursing and Care Homes and Home Care) than with the GGZ.
Both organizations will not get off to a flying start
You would expect that the unbundling would entail structural extra costs for both institutions, but that is denied by Lentis director Johan Oostinga. ..Both organizations are large enough to set up their own services efficiently.”
Which is not to say that the two organizations will get off to a flying start. In addition to long waiting lists, both institutions are struggling with increasing staff shortages. They also spend a lot more money on higher collective labor agreement salaries, energy prices and construction costs. For example, salary costs at Lentis will increase by approximately 16 million euros this year and at Dignis by 6 million euros. Oostinga: ,, That will really have to be largely reimbursed by the insurers and the government. We are both under pressure. This is reinforced by the low socio-economic status of the Groningen population, the earthquake problem and the long travel times.”
If the insurers and the municipalities do not meet Lentis GGZ, the healthcare institution must set priorities. Oostinga: “Then we will focus more on complex psychiatry.”