Residents of Lolland Municipality gathered in Søllested on Monday evening to voice concerns about proposed cuts to elderly care, part of a savings package worth 200 million kroner.
The meeting took place in Højrebyhallen in Søllested, where cardboard signs on the tables named topics such as nursing homes and prevention. DR reports that Ældre Sagen Lolland organized the debate so citizens could meet local politicians.
Among those attending was Tom Svendsen from Horslunde. According to DR, he said his biggest worry is that older residents will face hardship, and that there will not be enough nursing homes.
The savings proposals come from a catalog prepared by the municipal administration and presented to local politicians. The municipality’s finances are in such poor shape that large cuts are on the table, including in elderly care.
Per DR, the catalog proposes reducing the number of care centers from 10 today to three. It also proposes fewer nursing home units, and greater use of medicine robots and so called automated case processing in home care.
DR notes that the catalog does not specify exactly what the changes would mean for the daily lives of older residents. In total, the proposals cover savings of 200 million kroner across all areas of Lolland Municipality.
Politicians promise to listen
Tine Vinther Clausen of Venstre, chair of the health and elderly affairs committee, attended the meeting. As reported by DR, she said she hopes it will reassure residents that the reduction in care centers will not happen tomorrow.
She also stressed that savings must be found. At one of the tables she said she understood the concerns raised, but noted that the discussion could equally have concerned children and schools, where cuts hurt just as much.
Social Democrat Torben Klitmøller Hollmann, deputy chair of the same committee, was also present. He underlined the need for savings, but said he would take one idea home, namely creating communities for residents living in the towns.
Ældre Sagen Lolland said the aim of the evening was for politicians to leave with ideas they could use in future elderly policy. Several residents used the meeting to describe how the proposals could affect everyday care.
For Svendsen, contact with older residents remains the central issue. According to DR, he said everything is becoming so mechanized that human contact with the elderly grows more distant.
