There are more than 2.5 million informal caregivers in the Netherlands and they are put in the spotlight every year on November 10, the annual informal care day. You can call yourself an informal caregiver if you care for a loved one for more than eight hours a week and for more than three months. Not every informal caregiver realizes that he or she is an informal caregiver.
Informal Care Day
The first Informal Care Day took place on November 10, 1997. The idea behind the informal care day is relaxation, meeting and pampering people who selflessly work for others day in, day out. Furthermore, the Day of Informal Care must contribute to the recognition and recognition of informal caregivers. Of the informal caregivers in the Netherlands, 42% are men and 58% are women. These people usually do their work in silence and have little contact with other people in a similar situation. For example, they are often poorly informed about their rights as informal caregivers. Informal Care Day is therefore not only about making contacts and relaxing, but also a day on which informal caregivers receive and can exchange information.
National Carers Week
National Carers Week has been organized in England for many years. This week full of activities and festivities for informal caregivers takes place there annually in June. This idea was embraced by LOT (the predecessor of Mezzo) in 1997 and from this the Day of Informal Care was born. The idea of informal care cafés has also been adopted from our Western neighbors. In England, informal caregivers are entitled to care benefits and are often eligible for free fitness center subscriptions. These informal caregivers reduce the costs of the healthcare sector and, according to the English government, there should be something in return for this. Moreover, a healthy informal caregiver can complete his tasks for longer and our Western neighbors are willing to invest in this.
Informal care
The word informal care was first used in 1977 by Prof. JCM Hattinga Verschure. This professor of Hospital Sciences at the University of Utrecht was himself very socially involved. He died in 2006. He coined the word informal care and the following definition: Informal care is care provided by partners, family members, friends or a good neighbor to people in need of help, such as people with a chronic illness or a disability. It is care that goes beyond normal care for each other. It is help that is given unpaid.
Mezzo
Mezzo is an organization to support informal caregivers. Informal caregivers can come here with all their questions. Many volunteer organizations fall under Mezzo, so Mezzo knows where you can find volunteers in your area that you can call on to partly outsource the care. They also know where and under what conditions you can rely on professional support. Mezzo is also responsible for the creation of the Day of Informal Care.
Read more about help for informal caregivers: Informal caregivers and support
Hopefully Informal Care Day will continue for a long time. A day on which informal caregivers can relax and do fun things in appreciation for their often difficult task.
Informal care compliment
If you are helped by family or friends and would like to do something to thank them, you can request the informal care compliment for them. You will receive a letter and form for this from the municipality in which you live.
As an informal caregiver, you can indicate to the WMO that you provide informal care. The WMO is responsible for supporting informal caregivers. In some municipalities, registration as an informal caregiver is also necessary to qualify for the informal caregiver compliment. This can also help if you want to qualify for respite care (replacement care).