Home care organisation, Zuidzorg, will suffer a loss of millions this year. That’s due to the corona crisis.
The organisation’s heading towards a loss of €1 to €2 million, Director, Charles Laurey, told Studio040. Zuidzorg’s affected in two ways. An important component of Zuidzorg is causal work. Both Zuidzorg itself and its clients’ activities ground to a halt during the crisis.
Zuidzorg’s also noticed that they’re getting fewer new clients. Home care often follows a hospital admission. Because regular care’s still at a lower level, there’s also less need for home care.
Safety couldn’t be guaranteed
Zuidzorg and its clients were cautious from mid-March onwards. Too little protective equipment was available for home care at that time. As a result, Zuidzorg couldn’t always guarantee a safe situation for staff and clients, Laurey says. At-risk employees were, therefore, sent home.
With much of the care provided by Zuidzorg, it’s impossible to keep a 1.5m distance. These involve things like washing and dressing, applying aids, and physical care. They asked all their clients whether they had someone who could take over this care.
Some clients stopped their Zuidzorg care at that time. Others limited the number of hours of care. The decrease in the number of hours and clients has now created a gap of ‘several million’.
Zuidzorg is discussing compensation with municipalities, health insurers, and the national government. Laurey expects that, even after compensation, a shortfall of €1 to €2 million will remain. According to him, Zuidzorg’s continued existence isn’t in jeopardy. The institution has sufficient buffers to be able to absorb the current financial blows.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Bob
Editor: Melinda Walraven
