Elderly care can be a maze. Jerry Casimiri and Christine van der Zee can relate to that. They both applied for care for a loved one and that turned out to be not easy. “It was extremely stressful and that still affects me.”
Jerry (87) had to arrange care for his sick wife and was wrongly involved in a fraud investigation. Christine’s 96-year-old mother suddenly lost her dishwasher. With nasty consequences.
Crisis
Jerry Casimiri is 86 years old when his wife urgently needs extra care. She has parkinsonism and that disease will lead to a crisis in early September 2021, says Jerry.
“She started hallucinating, it got worse and worse. Maybe it had to do with her medication, which had been halved. There was a difference of opinion between the neurologist and the pharmacy,” says Jerry.
Recorded urgently
The hallucinations meanwhile became more intense and at a certain point Jerry couldn’t take it anymore. “I called the GP and he linked me to a crisis team. Someone from that team called and said: ‘You will be called next week’.”
Jerry is still holding out that week. When the team finally comes by, they say after 10 minutes that his wife needs to be admitted urgently.
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See what Jerry Casimiri faced when he sought care for his wife with Parkinson’s disease.
Need 24-hour care
When Jerry’s wife comes home after the admission, care must be present day and night, that is clear. Arranging this takes a lot of time and effort and causes a lot of stress.
“I had to look for a house because the house where we lived was not suitable for 24-hour care. Everything was too expensive. After 8 months I had found something, a rental apartment with 24-hour care, paid for with a PGB (personal budget, ed.).”
Wheelchair from another jar
He arranged a high-low bed and a hoist. “You have to do everything yourself and read very carefully. After 26 weeks, for example, they came to pick up the hoist again because it turns out that you have to buy it after 26 weeks and can no longer rent it. Then I had to go after a new lift,” says Jerry .
And the elevator is not the only problem. “We had a wheelchair that was paid for under the Wmo (Social Support Act, ed.). But once we got 24-hour care, we had to return it and buy a new wheelchair under the Wlz (Long-term Care Act, ed.). That is almost the same chair, completely adapted to my wife, but paid for from a different fund.”
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Fraud
And then something unpleasant happens: Jerry becomes the object of a fraud investigation when applying for the PGB. Because he is not familiar with the personal budget, he hires a so-called health broker on the advice of the authorities, who helps him draw up the application.
But the application is rejected because it would not have been laid down schematically enough. When Jerry and the health broker apply for a personal budget for the second time and another rejection follows, he learns that there will be a fraud investigation.
‘Extremely stressful time’
“I understand that they want to take a good look at it, because it concerns an application for 63,000 euros per year.” In the first instance, the health broker may not be present at the meeting with the Inspectorate, due to a possible conflict of interest. That is ultimately allowed and no fraud is detected.
But all in all it has been a very stressful time, says Jerry. “It still works. I am 87 and not the youngest anymore. It goes on and on. Now the nursing staff has rejected the hoist again. I had a good one and we now have a kind of meccano box.”
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Half a year without help
Jerry and his wife are certainly not the only ones who had to overcome all kinds of obstacles to get the care they are entitled to. Christine van der Zee’s 96-year-old mother also gets into trouble.
That happens when the dishwashing help for her mother is suddenly stopped. “The Wmo no longer does it and the district nurse is not allowed to do it. My mother has been without effective help for six months now and in an objection procedure with the municipality.”
Washing up between shore and ship
Christine, who is 70 years old herself, explains how the dishes fell through the cracks. Her mother can still live at home, just as the government encourages, but she can’t stand on her feet for long and has to hold on when she’s standing still.
Doing the dishes yourself is therefore not possible and Christine, her only daughter, lives 2 hours away. “The lady who provides domestic help now saves everything just in time, but she can’t manage to get rid of the dishes as well. 8 months ago that time was still there, but there have been cuts,” says Christine . “My mother also receives care through the district nurse, but they are not allowed to do the dishes.”
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See why Christine van der Zee’s mother suddenly lost her dishwasher, and why that is a problem.
Objection
Because Christine stands up for her mother and asks for extra time for the dishes, there is an investigation. “Two people came to investigate my mother and wrote a report in which they argue that extra time is not necessary.”
Christine objects and the proceedings are still ongoing. “My big problem is: I can still find my way a bit and write letters, but I find it bizarre that someone aged 96 can just lose help from one day to the next with no alternative.”
‘Not everyone has carers’
Her mother could have had a dishwasher for half a year, Christine is sure of that. “Meanwhile there is talk of destruction of capital, with all these investigations into the situation.”
An additional problem, she says, is that the government thinks there are enough informal carers, “but my mother lives 2 hours away and I’m almost 70. I’m holding my breath for the future. My three daughters will soon be fully at work when I’m over 80. It’s just wishful thinking on the part of the government that everyone has carers.”
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2023-07-15 06:00:01
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