Health sec. takes shots for own mother's poor care

State Secretary of Health Martin van Rijn has received a lot of criticism over the failing care for people with dementia. Yesterday van Rijn's father, Joop van Rijn (81), talked about the horrible quality of elderly care and the deplorable conditions in which his demented wife - the minister's mother - lives. "Sometimes my wife is not changed. When she stands up the urine runs down to her ankles." he said in AD yesterday. "I always go to her excited, but I often leave with a heavy heart." Van Rijn Senior's tale led to a flood of reactions on social media. Messages like "Van Rijn fails as Secretary of State and as a man" and "Van Rijn has not only buried his parents, but the entire elderly care in the Netherlands" could be seen on social platforms such as Twitter. Van Rijn appeared on the late night talk show Pauw. He acknowledged the worrying situation, but made no proposal to improve the current quality problem. "Everyone realizes that it can not continue like this, but that can not happen at the snap of a finger. A lot will have to change, such as modernizing and expanding the workforce." he said on Pauw last night.

De dochter van Samsom, de vader van Van Rijn: familieleden laten PvdA-ers weten dat zorgbeleid niet deugt. Nu nog de conclusie trekken...

— Bram Bakker (@drbrambakker) November 5, 2014

Nog steeds flabbergasted dat staatssecretaris Van Rijn in Pauw geen enkel voorstel deed om huidige kwaliteitsproblemen te verbeteren

— Renske Leijten (@RenskeLeijten) November 5, 2014

Buikpijn. Wat een gênante vertoning. Zou meneer Oude Nijhuis een hele grote knuffel willen geven. #Pauw

— Fleur Agema (@FleurAgemaPVV) November 4, 2014