Elderly people in Eindhoven can expect less help in the summer months than they are normally offered. Care organisations are noticing the consequences of the staff shortage in care. Tzorg, which offers domestic help for the elderly, has therefore informed its clients that help is only available to a ‘limited’ extent.
- That message came as a shock to Tzorg client Jan Cuppens. Cuppens himself is 85 years old, his wife is 90 and they live in an apartment in Eindhoven. They no longer have contact with their children and grandchildren after a dispute about the house that Cuppens exchanged for an apartment.
“That’s why domestic help is important to us,” says Cuppens. “My wife can’t clean anymore, and I try to do as much as possible myself, but it’s not like it used to be. I can’t do the mopping and changing the sheets is also a problem, that’s too much work for me.”
The domestic help is Cuppens’ support and confidant. “You need someone to help you, not only with the housework, but also someone to keep an eye on you. Someone who says, ‘this has been in the fridge for a while and it can actually go'”, says Cuppens.
Insecurity
Jan’s domestic help is leaving in August for three weeks, during which time Jan and his wife do not know what to expect. “We received a letter stating that we do not need to call them and that if replacement help arrives, we will receive a text message and a phone call in advance. The fact that there is no cleaning during that time is annoying, but the worst thing is the uncertainty we are left with.”
February
A spokesperson for Tzorg says that they are aware of the problem but says that it is also happening elsewhere. “Unfortunately, we are experiencing a shortage of staff everywhere in healthcare. We are already starting to recruit replacement staff for the summer in February, but it is true that we are not able to find replacements everywhere.”
Tzorg does have that ambition, says the spokesperson. However, due to the tightness on the labour market, this is difficult to achieve. “This year we are hiring more than a thousand temporary workers, while we employ a total of 12,000 people. But our permanent employees also need vacation because they work very hard. That is why we are not going to ask them to continue working during the summer.”
Extra help
Still, something needs to be done for the elderly who are left without help in the summer due to staff shortages, according to Trudy van Helmond of Stichting Steunpunt voor Ouderen. “People need extra help right now. It’s about Tzorg, but other care institutions also have staff shortages. The problems are everywhere.”
According to Van Helmond, the elderly can also count on less care from family. “Many people with children are going on holiday now, which means that the elderly can also expect less help from their children. We are one of the few who are still open.”
Flexibility
How to deal with the consequences of the staff shortage in the summer remains a difficult question for Van Helmond. “I think you should try to be more flexible with planning holidays more. And I also think that senior citizens’ organisations should be open in the summer months. That is why we receive a lot of requests for help at our foundation during this period. It is especially important to help each other during the summer,” Van Helmond concludes.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translated by Yawar Abbas
