One-off 25 euros for “signing clothing and personal linen with the resident’s name”. 30 euros per month for laundry and ironing. And toiletries are billed “when preference is given to products other than those normally covered by the facility”.
These are just a few of the supplements that any Flemish residential care center advertises on its website. And that is already a lot: even more often you do not simply see the specific rates. “Internet connection, cable TV, drinks: it varies from institution to institution whether or not supplements are charged for this,” says Herman Fonck, chairman of advocacy at the Okra seniors’ association. “Sometimes you have people who explicitly say: with us it is included in the price.”
Net als Ryanair
The principle is reminiscent of that of low-cost airlines: the ticket price only includes the flight, you have to pay extra for (hand) luggage, check-in at the airport and to sit together.
Charging for supplements also sometimes goes too far in residential care centers, says Fonck. “I recently saw an invoice from a resident who had requested a waffle during Christmas dinner instead of the cookie that was offered. 1.5 euros extra, because that was ‘food outside the meals’. We therefore always advise our members who are looking for a residential care center for their parents: ask.”
Washing machines
Physiotherapist, hairdresser, tube feeding… These are just some of the services for which supplements are possible. “Even washing personal clothing is often not included,” says Fonck. “You should expect that. The residents often have no other choice, unless they rely on their own children to do their laundry. Residential care centers wash all the bedding, so the clothes don’t seem so insurmountable after all.”
On average, a nursing home currently costs 2,182 euros per month, Okra calculated based on figures that it requests from the Flemish government twice a year. Through the database with cost prices, staffing and inspection reports, the elderly association wants to enable its members and their parents to compare residential care centers “in an instant” through “objective characteristics”.
Another price increase on the way
But those monthly prices include the black spot of the supplements. “We therefore ask that the Flemish government collects more data on cost price supplements and makes all that data readily available to those looking for a residential care center.”
Okra warns that a new wave of price increases is coming. It was recently decided that residential care centers must from now on follow the health index to which pensions are also linked. But when the next limit is exceeded, they can follow the consumption index one more time. “We assume that a number of residential care centers will seize the opportunity to implement a larger increase while they still can,” says Fonck.
