Over the past year multiple elderly people were abused in nursing home De Leeuwenhoek in Rotterdam by staff and fellow residents, Trouw reports based on witness testimony and supporting documents.
The abuse ranges from verbal aggression to physical violence, according to the newspaper. An anonymous source also told Trouw that staff steal from the elderly residents and that the residents sometimes don't get the medicine they need.
The death of an employee in psychiatric clinic De Kijvelanden last year, was the result of a too high workload and staff shortages, the Inspectorate for Justice and Security concludes in a draft report on the incident. There was also too little supervision on the use of medicines and the rules on letting patients use dangerous objects were not followed, the report reads, RTL Nieuws reports.
Ministers Hugo de Jonge of Public Health and Sander Dekker of Medical Care presented an action plan to improve youth care in the Netherlands. "The interests of the child are still too often not the first priority", the Ministers said, NOS reports.
Residential care complex Fermate on Handellaan in Zwolle was partially evacuated on Monday after a fire broke out. Firefighters are at the scene in large numbers, because there are many elderly people in the building, the local safety office said to ANP.
How many people were evacuated from their homes is not yet clear. They were taken to a nearby school. So far no injuries were reported.
The fire was noticed around 1:00 p.m. What caused it, is not yet clear.
Moderate alcohol consumption also poses health risks, according to a new international study. The researchers call on health organizations to lower the advice for healthy alcohol use, the Volkskrant reports.
The government is threatening to fine health insurers that don't do their utmost to shorten waiting lists for mental healthcare, State Secretary Paul Blokhuis of Public Health said to the Volkskrant.
This is one of the measures Blokhuis has planned to tackle waiting lists in mental health care. Others include asking patients to be more assertive, and making it possible to place care providers under stricter supervision.
Pieter Smit, mayor of the Groningen municipality of Oldambt and member of the D66, died after going into cardiac arrest on Tuesday. He was 54 years old.
"This afternoon we heard the terrible news that our mayor Pieter Smit died of cardiac arrest. We lost our mayor, a beloved man. But his family lost their husband and father", the municipality of Oldambt said on Twitter.
Dutch healthcare authority NZa has until January 1st to determine which nursing homes in the Netherlands are the best, and these will serve as the norm for all nursing homes in the country, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health wrote in a report on improving nursing home care, NOS reports.
The Rotterdam police surprised the children in the Sophia Children's Hospital on Sunday by dropping off dozens of balloons shaped like Spongebob, Piglet and Nintje, among others.
The police seized the balloons from a man who was selling them illegally. In consultation with the Public Prosecutor, the police decided to repurpose the balloons to put a smile on the faces of kids admitted to the Sophia Children's Hospital.
Just over half - 52 percent - of Dutch voters are in favor of holding a referendum on the new organ donation law, according to the weekly poll by Maurice de Hond.
The impression that budget cuts in mental healthcare lead to more problems and incidents involving "disturbed persons" is not reflected in the figures of Dutch health insurers, the Volkskrant reports.
Over the past four years expenditures on mental healthcare for adults increased by 10 percent to 3.5 billion euros. The number of times mental healthcare crisis teams were deployed also decreased - from around 70 thousand times in 2013 to around 60 thousand last year.
First responders at Schiphol Airport will soon be equipped with tourniquets that they will carry at all times. This precautionary measure is intended to prevent deaths through blood loss after an incident like an attack, a Schiphol spokesperson confirmed to ANP.
Tourniquets will form part of the standard uniform and equipment, in addition to defibrillators.
The Ministry of Public Health Welfare and Sports wants to close all smoking areas in restaurants in bars, restaurants and other catering establishments in the Netherlands within two years. State Secretary Paul Blokhuis will announce this on Friday, sources in The Hague told NOS.
A student at Eindhoven University of Technology accidentally discovered a method to make a medicine against breast cancer much cheaper, NU.nl reports.
The student, working under lead researcher Lech-Gustav Milroy, conicidentally discovered that the substance Z-endoxifen, which can be used as a cancer medication, can be made in its pure form in one step. This discovery makes an extra step in the production process superfluous, and therefore makes the production process cheaper.
Easter bonfires are causing an increased concentration in particulate matter in the air in some parts of the Netherlands, particularly in Overijssel and Achterhoek. "Especially people with lung diseases such as asthma and COPD, and (older) people with cardiovascular disease may suffer", public health institute RIVM warns, NOS reports.
According to the RIVM, the problem lies in the calm weather with not much wind. As a result, smoke and particulate matter can remain in place for a long time. The institute warns people to avoid the smoke as much as possible.
Amsterdam football team Ajax honored Abdelhak Nouri on his 21st birthday on Monday with a video posted on Twitter. "We think about you every day, but on your birthday a little bit more", the team wrote with the video, adding the hashtag #StayStrongAppie.
Two of the four large health insurers warned that it is no longer possible for them to keep health care premiums equal, or increase them only slightly. Consumers may face a big premium increase next year, according to insurers CZ and Achmea, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Dutch Health Council wants the government to make HIV prevention pill Prep available to population groups that are at higher risk of being infected by the virus, such as homosexual men. According to the Health Council, the pill is medically- and cost effective and should be considered "essential care" for high risk groups, NOS reports.
The Health Council looked into Prep at the request of former Health Minister Edith Schippers.
War hero and former CDA senator Johan van Hulst passed away at the age of 107. Van Hulst was best known for saving Jewish children from the hands of Nazis and their supporters during the Second World War, ANP reports.
State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure and Water Management plans to implement around 100 extra measures to ensure that air quality throughout the Netherlands meets European standards, ANP reports.
Over 700 thousand elderly people in the Netherlands are sometimes lonely, according to a report by the Ministry of Public Health. That number is expected to increase to 1.1 million by 2030. Health Minister Hugo de Jonge presented a set of measures to combat loneliness among the elderly, and the government is investing 26 million euros into the plan over the coming years, RTL Nieuws reports.
Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health calls it "very worrisome" that the so-called suicide powder claimed a victim. A 19-year-old girl from Uden in Noord-Brabant committed suicide using the drug three weeks ago. She ordered it online, ANP reports.
The Public Prosecutor launched an investigation into the girl's death. The investigation must also show whether Cooperatie Laaste Wil (CWL), who wants to distribute the powder among people who wish to die, was involved in the young woman's death. De Jonge finds it good that the Prosecutor launched an investigation.
20 percent of Dutch people aged 12 and older had trouble sleeping in 2017, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands' Heath Survey.
In the two weeks before the survey, 20 percent of Dutch had trouble falling asleep, struggled to sleep through the night, or woke up too early. Ten percent indicated that they had serious sleep problems. 41 percent of the Dutch with sleep problems say it hampers their daily functioning, causing forgetfulness or poor concentration. Among those with serious sleep problems, 57 percent say it hampers their daily functioning.
The Netherlands is again in 6th place on the United Nations' list of happiest countries in the world. Finland came in first place on the World Happiness Report.
Every year the UN investigates the happiness level of residents of over 150 countries. The researchers look at, among other things, wealth distribution, trust in society and the government, the quality of health care, and freedom.
