The government says the reform will contribute to an age-friendly society.
– More seniors can live active lives longer and enjoy the security of their own home, and those who can’t live at home should also have a safe, good and dignified life, says Prime Minister Jonas Gerstor (Apr).
The reason for the report is that by 2040 Norway will have almost a quarter of a million people over the age of 80. This is double compared to today’s times.
According to the government, the three most important measures are:
- A plan for an age-friendly Norway, which will create more social meeting places, age-friendly transport, age-friendly volunteering and planning for better ageing.
- The Old Age Housing Project, which will contribute to both adaptations in old age homes so that they can live longer at home and construction of care homes, safe houses and places in old age homes.
- The new home service will help seniors meet fewer and more permanent staff, better base staff and fewer temporary staff.
A dementia choir sang as the government presented its Storting report on the elderly.
Photo: Heiko Jung / NTP
The presentation was given at Dronning Ingrid’s Estate, a nursing home and residential community in Oslo that supports people with dementia, where they have the opportunity to visit a workshop and cafe. There are 130 safe places.
Four investment areas
Health Minister Ingwil Kerkol (AP) says the reform consists of four main areas:
- Living local communities that focus on activity and community
- Modified housing options and the opportunity to live safely in your own home for longer
- Skilled employees
- Protection for users and support for relatives
– We want to contribute to an age-friendly society. It is more than health. Kerkol says society as a whole has a responsibility.
The government will review the living arrangements. The health minister says the reform is broad and cuts across multiple sectors.
– Today’s health system is important, but he believes that cultural life, volunteerism, the transport sector and municipalities also have important tasks.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) presented the government’s new elderly reform with Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) and Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp) on Friday.
Photo: Heiko Jung / NTP
Disgruntled opposition
FRP’s health policy spokesperson Bård Hoksrud believes that the government is failing the elderly who need care when the main focus of the elderly reform is on those who can live at home.
– Arrangements should be made for older people to have the opportunity to live at home for as long as they can, but the Government acknowledges that almost everyone who develops dementia will need a nursing home or care home at some point. , says Hoksrud.
KrF president Olaug Bollestad was not enthusiastic. He believes the government is “suffering from inquiry disease and they are wasting money on investigations”.
– We know how important activity is to our seniors. Professionals are probably the backbone of good care for the elderly. It’s important no matter where you live, but Polstad believes the government’s trust reform won’t create more specialists
Høyre’s aging policy spokesperson Erlend Svardal Bøe believes the government has closed many old programs and introduced new ones.
– I was completely speechless when I heard that safe housing for the elderly was a “significant and completely new measure”. This is what the Conservatives proposed in the 2022 State Budget. Poe says the first thing Labor did when they came to power was cut it.
He added that the Conservative Party believes that it is good for the Government to continue the work of creating an age-friendly society that the Conservative Party government started.
Stine Westrum, Storting representative from Rødt, is pleased that the government is prioritizing the elderly. The proposal says the government will create an age-friendly Norway.
– At the same time, we are very concerned when Kerkol says that the elderly need to take responsibility and plan for their old age. Westrum says it is our responsibility as a welfare state to ensure a dignified and safe aging for older people.
He calls for more specialists per patient, not fewer, as he believes the government is signaling the future.
Districts should be strengthened
Local Government and District Minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp) says efforts in the districts must now be stepped up:
– Strengthen efforts in municipalities with the elderly to meet changes in society. A challenge for us is the lack of suitable housing for the elderly, especially in rural areas.
As such, the government wants an active housing policy that promotes access to suitable housing for older people and needs to be included and allowed for in the local context, says Gijelsvik.
Employees say they are breaking the law at work and relatives fear gross negligence. What is it like in Norwegian nursing homes?
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