Martin van Rijn, the Dutch State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport, has expressed his enthusiasm about the home care facilities for elderly people with dementia run by Dagelijks Leven. After his working visit to the Het Portiershuis home in Oisterwijk in Brabant province, he was particularly impressed with the numerous advantages provided by the small scale of the facilities.
Van Rijn: ‘This just goes to show that small-scale residences make all the difference, and I have found that this individual attention is part of Dagelijks Leven’s overall approach: people come first; it’s about their individual experience. The home care provided is like the type of care they would receive in their own home. The organisation is well managed and not weighed down by all sorts of rules and regulations. I had the opportunity to observe some courageous initiatives during my visit that could potentially help bring about a change in our long-term health services – and I fully intend to spread the word,’ the state secretary said.
The Poirtershuis facility in Oisterwijk in Brabant province is one of the ten home care facilities managed by Dagelijks Leven for elderly people with dementia. Each branch can accommodate a maximum of 20 residents. Dagelijks Leven aims to offer the residents a real home at an affordable rent. Even people who only receive a state retirement pension can afford to live in one of these facilities. Living in the heart of the community, they receive fully personalised health services.
Agreement
Older people with dementia and their informal carers no longer need to apply for a personal healthcare budget and can opt for either this personal budget or a full home-care package.
During the state secretary’s working visit, an agreement was signed between healthcare administration office VGZ and Dagelijks Leven, as part of which VGZ will procure healthcare directly from Dagelijks Leven and offer it to clients as part of a package.
This option is open to residents of the branches of Dagelijks Leven in the areas where healthcare administration office VGZ operates. It will enable elderly people with dementia to use the health services provided by Dagelijks Leven without needing to deal with any of the paperwork.
Interesting mix
During his working visit, Van Rijn was particularly eager to hear about the experiences of the residents themselves, their informal carers and members of the healthcare team. This has resulted in a colourful and interesting mix of comments, highlighting the passion of the staff at the home and the sense of belonging experienced by the residents. Some examples: ‘The staff at Dagelijks Leven actually have time for the residents. They have far less paperwork, and there is enough time available to listen to residents and their families. There is a much stronger sense of commitment among staff. It was this type of approach that made me want to work in the healthcare sector in the first place. There is an overwhelming sense of warmth here, and I became quite emotional on my first visit to this facility – I cried knowing that a place like this could still exist in this day and age.’
Better
State Secretary Van Rijn says he regularly makes working visits to various homes and facilities. ‘I wanted to convince myself that healthcare can be improved, and that alternative solutions are available. Changes in the healthcare sector are not implemented overnight.’
He feels the key to these improvements is to make the wellbeing of the residents, rather than the institutions themselves, the focus. His Ministry (Health, Welfare and Sport) has developed the Dignity and Pride programme, of which Dagelijks Leven is a participant. This is a positive development, as new players such as Dagelijks Leven shake up the market and create competition for established providers in this market, which was until recently dominated by the major Dutch healthcare institutions. Van Rijn: ‘Clients should be able to decide themselves what type of care they want.’ He adds that institutions that refuse to change with the times and end up undermining the trust of the public will eventually be closed down.
NPM Capital shares the state secretary’s view: it has been investing in Dagelijks Leven’s small-scale healthcare concepts since 2014, as part of its long-term commitment to improving care for the elderly.
