Minister Helder (Long Term Care) is shocked by the abuse of residents at a care farm in Groningen. “I was horrified when I heard that. Something like this shouldn’t happen in the Netherlands,” he said.
There he had to disclose the Health and Youth Inspectorate’s (IGJ) report during interrogation. It shows that patients at the Aurora Borealis nursing farm in Wedde are physically and emotionally abused or punished if they do something the care staff doesn’t like. People with severe multiple disabilities live on the farm.
All residents have now been resettled and entrepreneurs have been arrested, Helder said. “It is incredible that this is happening.” MP Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks), who summoned the minister to the chamber, spoke of “maltreatment of a sadistic character”.
The inspection report released yesterday contains examples of severe insults to the residents of the neighborhood. For example, someone got peanut butter on their head and was licked by a dog. A customer was also pushed into a ditch and another hit his head in the toilet.
took a long time
Several MPs wanted to know why it was taking so long to act on Wedde. The incident came to light after investigative journalist Alberto Stegeman recorded it with a hidden camera in October. Only in December did the supervisory authority actually intervene.
Minister Helder is also surprised that the violations have continued for so long. He stated that no report has been received from the examination so far. Also, Stegeman took his findings to the police, not the regulator.
Aurora Borealis is also a Personal Budget (pgb) based care place, not an official care facility. As a result, there was less insight into the quality of care.
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
