‘Bert’ with dementia forgot his PIN code in the supermarket, Samantha paid for his groceries

Samantha did some quick shopping around 7:30pm. In the supermarket queue she saw ‘Bert’ standing there, confused. It’s not his real name, but in her LinkedIn post, she called him that. As a community nurse who works with dementia patients on a daily basis, she recognized the symptoms immediately.

“I thought he was in his 80s. He was rude, confused and maybe a little desperate. I heard the cashier say: ‘Yes, sir, that’s actually 41.80 euros. If you can’t afford that, we have to send it. the groceries back.’ There was no sympathy and no consideration of how this man could be helped.

‘I’ll pay the bill’

She looked at his groceries and saw that the man wanted to buy bread, cheese, pasta and meat. “We really need food to get through the weekend,” she thought. Although she didn’t know ‘Bert’, she decided to pay for his groceries. “The cashier shouted: ‘but ma’am, that’s 41 euros, isn’t it?’.

The man became emotionally upset and thanked her. “So I still have a nice weekend, he said.”

Samantha tells the story because ‘Bert’s story is the story of 300,000 people who are currently living with dementia in the Netherlands. Due to the aging population, there is a chance that this number will double by 2040, says Alzheimer Nederland.

According to Alzheimer Nederland, everyone has to deal with dementia sooner or later. There are over 800,000 informal carers who need to be available 24/7. “Caring for someone with dementia is one of the most difficult forms of informal care,” says spokesperson Henriette Brons. “But you can also meet him because you work with him, in a store or because you live next door.”

Women are at greater risk

Dementia is the fastest growing cause of death in the Netherlands according to Statistics Netherlands. The risk of dementia increases significantly with age in general, but it is estimated that there are around 15,000 patients under the age of 65. Women are at greater risk than men.

according to Alzheimer’s Netherlands People with dementia are living at home longer and longer, but often lack the right living environment. “There are already too many informal carers. We expect that there will be even greater problems in the future due to the doubling of the number of people with depression, the shortage of health care workers and the decrease in the number of informal caregivers, “says Brons.

That is why the organization called on political parties last year to do more for dementia care. “Inadequate support in living with dementia results in informal carers being overburdened at work, social isolation, loneliness, risk of falls, lack of -nutrition and neglect.

Shop staff on course

“People with dementia want to continue to participate in society for as long as possible, but that is not always easy. There is a taboo around depression and not everyone knows what the disease involves. Not to mention that people, like this financier, know how to deal with it. “That’s why we offer free online course especially targeting resource workers.”

How you deal with someone with dementia who is confused at that time can make a difference. “Maybe you recognize yourself when you’re in the supermarket and you forget your PIN code, if you keep calm it will appear again, but if you panic it won’t but worse,” said Brons.

Calling supermarkets

On LinkedIn Samantha wants supermarkets to make policies for people with dementia. “If you are located in an area where many elderly people live, I believe that as a supermarket you have a duty to your customers. Put your staff on a course or make a plan.”

Alzheimer Nederland is happy that people look out for each other, but according to that, there is still enough challenge. Brons: “At a time when we have less time and patience for each other, patience and understanding are what we need most in this inclusive society.”

How can you recognize behavior that is typical of people with dementia?

• Forgetting

• Reduced sense of time and space

• Difficulty with language

• Difficulty evaluating situations

• Change in behavior and character

• Problems with daily activities

• riot

• Difficulty seeing and seeing

• Losing things

• Withdraw from social activities