Record number of elderly in the Netherlands facing forced nursing home admissions
A record number of Dutch citizens over the age of 60 faced forced admission into nursing homes or psychiatric institutions in 2024, according to new data obtained by De Telegraaf from the Council for the Judiciary. A total of 9,400 elderly individuals were subject to such requests last year, compared to 8,000 in 2020. The rise is most significant among elderly people with dementia who live alone and increasingly pose a danger to themselves or others, often refusing home care and necessary treatment.
Requests for forced admissions are typically initiated by healthcare professionals or family members, who must apply through the Center for Care Assessment (CIZ). Family court judge Wouter van der Haak told De Telegraaf that a judge ultimately decides whether intervention is necessary under the Dutch Care and Coercion Act. Hearings usually take place at the elderly person's home, with family members, a healthcare professional, a lawyer for the elderly person, and sometimes the police present. Van der Haak said he nearly always grants such requests because CIZ has already issued a care indication, calling the cases "heartbreaking" and adding, "It is sad to have to remove someone from their own home."
Dianne, 66, visited her 93-year-old mother, Els, and found the apartment filled with smoke. She discovered a dry, overheated pan on the stove, where Els had forgotten she was boiling eggs. "It is only because I happened to visit that nothing worse happened," Dianne told De Telegraaf. Els, who suffers from dementia, refuses to move into a nursing home, despite repeated dangerous incidents, including overdosing on medication and throwing a heavy flowerpot off her balcony.
Epidemiologist Jan Broer of the GGD in Groningen, who has studied involuntary admissions for 25 years, attributed the surge to population aging, shrinking social networks, and the accumulation of chronic illnesses among the elderly. He noted that the growing number of elderly people with dementia, particularly those living alone, increasingly cannot manage independently. Broer emphasized to De Telegraaf that many forced admissions could have been prevented if the Netherlands had maintained more care homes, stating, "If care homes had still existed, this could have partly been prevented."
Dianne has since disabled her mother's stove, but dangerous situations continue to arise. Despite multiple incidents, including overdosing and hazardous behavior, Els refuses most forms of assistance, including help with showering or attending daycare. Although healthcare workers are building a file to support a future request for forced admission, the process will still take time. Meanwhile, Dianne expressed deep concern about what might happen before her mother can be placed in a safer environment. "I hope she can move into a nursing home soon," she said.
