Every third elderly person who needs help with cleaning does not have the opportunity to get it cleaned when they need it.
At the same time, one in five elderly home help recipients who receive help with bathing state that they cannot take a bath or basketball when they need to.
It shows a survey of Statistics Denmark conducted for the Elderly Case, writes Jyllands-Posten.
– It is very sad reading, and we simply should not accept it, says Bjarne Hastrup, director of Ældre Sagen to the newspaper.
– It affects both the health of the elderly and mental well-being. Some become lonely as a result of the lack of help.
The study also shows that the lack of help affects the everyday lives of the elderly.
Lack of cleaning can deter them from inviting guests, while lack of a bath or help getting washed can deter home help recipients from spending time with other people.
Bjarne Hastrup accuses Christiansborg of failing to deliver on a welfare agreement in 2006 and the withdrawal reform from 2011.
– Here, the politicians promised that the many billions that would later be withdrawn from the state coffers, would to a large extent go to the elderly area, so that they could afford to take care of more and more care-requiring elderly in the future, he says to Jyllands- Mail.
He also proposes that a “hygiene billion” be set aside immediately so that the elderly can be cleaned once a week.
Minister of Social Affairs and the Elderly Astrid Krag (S) acknowledges the problems in a written comment.
– It is sad when our elderly experience that there is no time for a hair wash or a vacuuming. It affects the quality of life, and we must have reversed the trend. Fortunately, the vast majority experience that they can take a bath or get cleaned when they ask for it, but the number must go up, Astrid Krag writes to Jyllands-Posten.
The survey is based on a representative sample of almost 1,500 home help recipients over the age of 65.