Dutch Mayor orders immediate closure of De Steeg nursing home after safety failures
A nursing home in De Steeg was shut down immediately on Friday after authorities determined that continued operation posed unacceptable safety risks, following two separate interventions by regulators and the mayor of Rheden, AD reports.
Mayor Carol van Eert ordered the immediate closure of Huize Rhederpark in De Steeg, bypassing a four-week transition period set by inspectors, after a joint visit on Friday by the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) and the Menzis Care Office. All residents were transferred the same day to a single care facility elsewhere in the municipality of Rheden.
Van Eert described the situation as unmanageable and said he could not guarantee the safety of residents. "I cannot establish whether the safety of the residents and the immediate surroundings is currently sufficiently guaranteed. Given the potential risks, I consider this decision unavoidable,” he said. He called the measure “a heavy and exceptional decision” and stressed the urgency of ensuring stability for vulnerable residents.
“The consequences are significant for the residents and their loved ones,” Van Eert said. “That is why everything is and will be done to ensure that the relocation proceeds as carefully as possible, in close cooperation with care providers and supervisory authorities. The most important thing at this moment is that for these vulnerable residents, rest, safety, and the care they deserve are guaranteed.”
The closure follows years of reported misconduct at the facility operated by care organization Derman, as previously reported by the AD. Allegations include care fraud, labor exploitation, sexual misconduct, and substandard care.
According to reports, some staff worked illegally in De Steeg without work permits, elderly residents were treated by unqualified personnel, and financial fraud amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros took place.
Multiple sources also described inappropriate sexual relationships between employees in supervisory roles. “While a woman lies in her excrement for days, employees are lying in bed together in a room next door,” one source said.
On Thursday, the IGJ released a critical report calling for the closure of the nursing home. Minister of Long-Term Care Mirjam Sterk described the closure as "impactful for the residents and their loved ones.”
Derman had been given until April 28 to relocate all residents, but Van Eert chose not to wait. “The situation in the nursing home had gone on for far too long,” he previously told the AD, adding that municipal authorities had limited ability to intervene earlier.
“That it has come to this decision today unfortunately confirms for me once again that the current system gives municipalities too few possibilities to act earlier and more effectively when serious signals accumulate,” he said.
