Large group of people are structurally not seen in the corona crisis’

How do ‘vulnerable’ elderly people themselves think about the corona crisis? – Zembla – BNNVARA
When evaluating the approach to the corona crisis, it is important to look at people’s lives, instead of the lengthy discussions about the corona law, the number of admissions to the ICU and whether the OMT is broad enough. A large group of people is structurally not seen in the approach to the corona crisis. The debate is mainly about anonymous structures and processes.

In the macro debate, we only heard a few people in this pandemic: epidemiologists, intensivists, hospital administrators, public health administrators, a few ministers and some mayors, representatives from hospitality and education, virus deniers and a lot of journalists. The others were passers-by. In that debate, little attention was paid to the lives of people who have been incarcerated for months, vulnerable people at home and in institutions, their loved ones, the homeless, people with a migrant background or people in disability or mental health care.

Lack of solidarity

There was also only limited solidarity for people who were unable to practice their profession, who went bankrupt, suffered burnouts, were afraid, and who were threatened by boa or police officer. We did understand the overburdened hospital staff, who deserve a bonus. But why not those others? The fact that so few leaders in our country, including from the hospitals, have heard these groups and entered into discussions with them, I continue to find a mistake.

This leads to the question: what do we find really important, what matters in people’s lives? The Council for Public Health & Society once stated: ‘Are we going for survival or living together?’. That is the question that matters most in daily practice. For example, many elderly people preferred quality in their final stage of life rather than survival at all costs. They were only asked something when the corona virus seemed to strike deadly.

It can also be learned from the corona crisis that the human dimension must come first and that our administrative culture must be improved. Seeing people, hearing, understanding and discussing with them what really matters to them is important. ‘

This is an expert quote from Henk Nies van Vilans, within the framework of ANP Expert Support. Henk Nies is Director of Strategy and Development at Vilans.

Bron: ANP Expert Support

–