Care home owners Vierstroom on Thursday launched a pilot scheme aimed at getting the families of dementia patients more involved in their care.

Under the scheme, families will be told they must make themselves available for four hours each month. They will not be asked to wash or clean their family members, but are expected to take them for walks or spend time talking to them, reports the Nederlands Dagblad.
The scheme is being piloted in Bergambacht and Vlist.
Money
‘The Netherlands must move away from the idea that the healthcare system solves every problem,’ Vierstroom director Jeroen van den Oever told the ND.
The state health insurance policy (awbz) does not have enough money to pay for healthcare workers to wash and feed patients and spend quality time with them, he said.
The national association of home carers says making people spend time with family members with dementia is not a good idea. ‘Not everyone has time to help,’ a spokesman told the paper.
The ND does not say what sanctions are available for people who refuse to help.
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