There are currently many elderly people, but there will only be more due to the aging population. What is elderly care about, what facilities are there for the elderly and why are these changing?
Elderly care
Elderly care concerns 2 groups of people;
- Single people over the age of 75 who find themselves in a situation of declining self-reliance
- People with complex health problems where there is an interplay of ‘cure’ and ‘care’.
Cure and Care
The meaning and differences between cure and care are very important in elderly care. For example, cure means that someone is cared for, only in the area that is important for recovery. So someone who has bronchitis gets antibiotics to get better. However, care also involves care in other areas. Someone who can no longer shower themselves due to shortness of breath and loss of strength will be helped with this. This is care, it has little or no influence on the treatment of a disease or condition, but it is necessary.
The 3 pillars of elderly care
Current elderly care rests on 3 pillars;
- Informal care, these are the family members, acquaintances, etc. who help someone with personal care, household care or in another way,
- Commercial or private services, for example people who do housework for payment,
- Facilities based on health insurance, such as home care. Elderly people receive financial support for this if necessary, this is arranged by the government.
Types of facilities related to elderly care
Care and facilities arranged for the elderly by the government are of three types;
- Care at home (home care)
- From a care or nursing home
- Care in day programs or short stays, i.e. staying away from home for half a day or a number of weeks.
Why do these facilities change?
These facilities are already changing and will continue to change over time due to, among other things:
- Individualization, people not only want to have more influence on the subsidy they receive, but also on the type of care
- Unbundling of housing and care
- Development of care networks, which makes the boundaries between extramural and intramural care less clear
- Emergence of transsectoral care, these are cross-connections between the different types of elderly care
- Socialization of care. Healthcare institutions are increasingly making connections with housing associations, for example.