AP
NOS News•Today, 10:00
Video calling and robots will become the norm in elderly care in the future. Elderly people who need care at home will be helped digitally and remotely where possible. This is necessary to make healthcare less expensive and labour-intensive, writes Minister Helder of Long-term Care to the House of Representatives.
Instead of a district nurse coming to your home, consultations are then made via video calling. In the event of a fall in the house, help can be called in via sensors and robots can remind someone to take medicine.
We are all getting older and the number of carers is not increasing proportionally, Helder writes. In order to prevent people from falling outside the care system, the helm has to change and work will have to be done more remotely and via digital channels. The cabinet is allocating 770 million euros for the cover.
Living at home longer
More than 15 billion euros will be spent on elderly care this year. In four years that will be more than 17 billion. Helder hopes to slow down the cost increase with a new way of working.
Parties in the care of the elderly are today giving the go-ahead for the program Living, Support and Care for the Elderly (WOZO). Minister Helder says she is in a hurry with the program because more and more elderly people are living at home for longer. That is why more homes will have to be adapted to the elderly who have lived at home for longer.
Professor Abbink of TU Delft warns against the idea that robots can be a solution to the staff shortage. According to him, it is a complex challenge for the elderly themselves, but also for employees.
