The man is paralyzed on one side after a cerebral infarction. Annet explains: ‘My father has now been tested for corona three times in Waalstaete. The result was always negative. ‘It is a nightmare for me, as a daughter and caregiver, that my father now lives in Waalstaete. He’s been in bed all days with pneumonia. ” As soon as it is possible and there is a room available, he moves elsewhere, says Annet.
Her father has lived in a room on the ground floor of Waalstaete for 4.5 years. “I’ve been lovingly caring for him for eight years. My mother died shortly after his stroke. Then our journey started past several nursing homes. We can write books about what we’ve been through. ”
The virus can then be introduced
According to Arnhem, her father is ‘one of the few in Waalstaete’ who is articulate and stands up for himself. ‘We have already fought for many things together in Waalstaete. A lot goes wrong there. The current situation is really too much for words. I watch helplessly as my father deteriorates. “
The care is still running without protection. Welker: ‘Everything according to the guidelines of the RIVM. I discussed this with a head of Waalstaete, but nothing could change. Fortunately, my father has always been tested negative, but the virus can be brought back in by a carer. It feels like Russian roulette. ”
The SP in Arnhem recently rang the bell about 14 infections among employees. Healthcare institution Pleyade, of which Waalstaete is a part, confirmed this and reported that three residents had died of the virus. The group wants an urgent debate in the city council on 17 June.
Also see: Corona in more nursing homes in Arnhem? “They’re as closed as an oyster at Pleyade”
This is supported by GroenLinks. Group member Maud Dolsma: ‘It is important that it is clear what is going on. Communication is not good and the image is skewed. Staff walk around without masks and family should not come near the residents. ‘
For professor of geriatric medicine at the Radboudumc in Nijmegen Marcel Olde Rikkert, it is clear that things have to change. ‘Especially in this period of uncertainty, without a vaccine or an effective medicine, and with the possibility of asymptomatic transmission (infecting someone without having any symptoms, ed.), Good communication is an essential part of good care. I hope that the parties in this field will be able to reconnect and work together on constructive improvements; we all have to learn during this period. Let’s do that together. ”
Also positive experiences
Not everyone shares Annet Welker’s story. ‘Our mother has been living in Waalstaete with pleasure for over six years,’ write Astrid Verbon and Caroline Hendriks. ‘Since there is corona in the Netherlands, all of us, but certainly the care and nursing homes, had to anticipate something unknown overnight. We as a family have deep admiration for the way care and other staff have handled this. ‘
Residents and family have recently been able to meet in a room, the so-called chat box, where they are separated from each other but can still speak and see each other. The sisters: “We can see with our own eyes and hear how the care has done everything to make it as pleasant as possible for our mother.” Nothing but praise, for Astrid and Caroline.
That meeting zone sometimes leads to distressing situations, Maud Dolsma of GroenLinks knows: “An elderly lady panicked and hit the microphone because she did not understand the situation.”
Annet Welker saw her father live on Monday, she says. “I was allowed to speak to him at the door of his room.”
‘Conducting the debate constructively’
Dolsma warns against pointing too quickly with the accusing finger. “We shouldn’t do that either, because I really appreciate all those hands on the bed. We must conduct the debate constructively. “
A spokeswoman for the senior citizens’ association ANBO points to the new dashboard on which corona infections (and possible sources of infection) are tracked locally and regionally. ‘Good data (and thus transparency) is of course of crucial importance in this.’
We do everything we can to keep residents healthy and feel safe
The stories that circulate about the residential care center in Arnhem-Noord hurt employees. Housing counselor Denise says that the employees do everything they can to keep the residents healthy and feel safe. “We are committed in many ways to make it as pleasant as possible for them, despite the lack and grief they experience because their loved ones cannot be physically close to them.”
Denise says she feels free and safe to “pop into any team head and nurse specialists and ask questions and raise concerns.” She decides that everyone gives a hundred percent for ‘loving, safe and warm care for our residents. And the reporting is detrimental to that which we do not deserve. “
A family member reports that six new corona infections among residents have been added. There are also two new infections among employees. Last week, 15 other infections were reported.
Also see: ‘We are terrified of death’, unrest after a corona outbreak in nursing home Arnhem
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