According to the inspectorate, sanitary facilities in crisis shelters are sometimes not cleaned, children may not be vaccinated against measles, among other things, and medical assistance is only available in an emergency. There are also people with psychological problems who do not belong in such a shelter.
Daily affairs
But the municipalities say in response that they are ‘doing their very best’ to ensure that day-to-day affairs are arranged, such as sufficient food for the residents of the shelter.
“It’s crisis shelter,” says a spokesman. According to him, this means that the municipalities try to organize the most basic matters, but ‘the question is then how much energy you still have for optimizing that crisis relief’.
Not intended for extended care
The crisis emergency reception locations are unsuitable for staying longer than a week, but asylum seekers sometimes live there for months. “It is important that we end this crisis,” says the VNG spokesperson. He points, among other things, to the distribution law, which should result in asylum seekers being distributed more evenly across municipalities.
The GGDs, which are jointly responsible for the care of asylum seekers in emergency shelters and also advise on possible outbreaks of infectious diseases, say they endorse the seriousness of the Inspectorate’s findings. Behind the scenes, according to a spokesperson for umbrella organization GGD GHOR Nederland, hard work is being done to improve the situation.
He points out, among other things, that people are now all registered upon arrival at a crisis emergency reception location, so that children receive youth health care, for example.
