In many places in the regions I see that beautiful things are happening for people with dementia and their loved ones. We no longer just focus on ‘care’. We are beginning to see that health disparities, debt, housing, loneliness, lifestyle (just to name a few) are related to how ‘healthy’ someone feels. Concepts such as positive health, rehabilitation, social approach and appropriate care form the language with which we try to find an answer to how we can meet the challenges of, among other things, a shrinking labor potential in combination with a growing group of elderly people.
Marieke van Werkhoven
Dementia case manager as an important link
Yet, with all these wonderful plans and developments, I have the feeling that we still pay too little attention to people with dementia. Living with dementia seems quite confusing to me, especially these days. Your illness means that you have less and less grip on reality, so you just have to find your way to the support you so desperately need. The case manager plays an important role in this. It is not without reason that we gave the case manager a prominent place within the care standard. He (or she) ensures that people with dementia can continue to live at home for longer and can continue to participate in life in their own neighborhood and network for as long as possible. And provides support if the network can no longer do it alone or if the step towards (professional) care must ultimately be taken.
The case manager is an indispensable link for many people with dementia.
The case manager is an indispensable link for many people with dementia. He helps them and their caregivers to live – to learn to deal with the disease -, organizes care and support and helps to look ahead to what is to come. The same case manager does this in collaboration with everyone else involved with that person with dementia, both professionally and voluntarily. I experienced this myself during my mother’s illness. I also saw how it gave my father a lot of support.
Organization of case management is quite complex
It is precisely this case management that is still a subject of discussion between all organizing (and interest) parties. No one doubts the usefulness and necessity of the dementia case manager, but we have made its organization quite complicated. Partly due to the current labor market shortage, we fear that case management as we conceived it at the time may no longer be feasible. And maybe that’s true.
No one doubts the usefulness and necessity of the dementia case manager, but we have made its organization quite complicated.
The different interests, fear about the feasibility and the complexity of our healthcare system means that we cannot resolve the bottlenecks in the implementation of case management (such as financing, tasks and responsibilities, indication, method of organization). And at the same time we know that a dementia case manager for the Netherlands BV seriously saves costs. Because people with dementia can continue to live at home for longer with the support of the same case manager and informal caregivers can last longer (and therefore have fewer ‘health complaints’ themselves).
Good organizational case management is possible
Sometimes I don’t understand (and actually don’t want to understand) why we can’t get something that is so successful, effective and cost-effective with a super high customer rating, well organized across the country. While it is possible! Several good examples in the country show this.
I sincerely hope that all the attention that is currently being paid to case management – from the national dementia rapporteur Tamara van Ark, from the House of Representatives, from the National Dementia Strategy and from my own program – will ensure that we hit nails on heads and make the perceived bottlenecks disappear. Because the dementia case manager must stay!
What is the Dementia Care Standard Implementation program?
The Dementia Care Standard Implementation program works together with the regional dementia networks in the Netherlands to implement the Dementia Care Standard. An important tool to provide the right support at the right time to people with dementia and their loved ones.
This program is part of the National Dementia Strategy of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. The program is under the responsibility of a core group consisting of ActiZ, Zorgverzekeraars Nederland, VNG, Alzheimer Nederland, Verenso, V&VN, BPSW and Dementia Network Netherlands (DNN) and is implemented by Marieke van Werkhoven as national coordinator in close collaboration with DNN (Dementia Network). The Netherlands).
For DNN – and also in the Care Standard – case management is one of the most important pillars of dementia care and support.
DNN, Movisie and Vilans will organize almost monthly meetings until 2026 for the various target groups that work with the Dementia Care Standard. More information can be found at the Dementia Care Standard website.
2023-10-11 10:21:43
#Dementia #case #management #subject #discussion
