Trade association of care organizations ActiZ warns against the stalling of care for the elderly infected with corona. The risks for healthcare personnel are becoming too great because the distribution of personal protective equipment for employees in the elderly care does not proceed quickly enough.
ActiZ supports the national guidelines regarding the use of scarce protective equipment. They believe that these resources should be used smartly, but that employers should be able to count on being provided with the resources they need to allow employees to work safely.
ActiZ spokesperson and board member Conny Helder emphasizes that it is important that, despite the worldwide run on protective equipment, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport creates speed in its distribution.
Unacceptable
Despite the maximum efforts of ActiZ to also provide the staff in the elderly care with the necessary mouth caps, gloves and aprons, the result is unsatisfactory. According to Helder, it is now time to look beyond the ICUs in hospitals and focus more on the conditions in nursing homes and around home care.
The board member finds the continuing shortage of personal protective equipment in elderly care unacceptable: “We will never force our employees to work unprotected in high-risk situations, but their risks are increasing rapidly. That is irresponsible.”
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ActiZ emphasizes the importance of testing healthcare workers outside hospitals, but recognizes that the reality is that there are currently only a hundred tests available per GGD region. The trade association also points out that more testing is increasing the demand for protective equipment.
A number of geriatric rehabilitation centers are rapidly being deployed as corona centers to relieve hospitals. Conny Helder: “Under difficult circumstances, employees provide care to people who need it. We do not want to leave them out in the cold.”
The 400,000 employees who are affiliated with ActiZ care for approximately two million elderly and chronically ill.
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