Langeland care cuts fuel fears about ageing on the island

Residents of Langeland fear planned cuts to elder care will make it harder to grow old on the island. The municipality plans to save 24 million kroner next year, DR reports.

The cuts include closing Stigtebo care home in Lohals, reducing home cleaning for older people from every two weeks to every four weeks, and cutting back on home-cooked meals at care homes. The municipality also plans to use robot vacuum cleaners more often in home care.

The changes have overshadowed an event planned by Langeland’s Senior Council for International Day of Older Persons. Its chair, Lene Berthelsen, said she no longer felt able to give a talk about “the good life in old age”. The council has invited municipal politicians to a meeting where residents can ask questions about the cuts.

Conservative Mayor Jørgen Nielsen said Stigtebo would close because of recruitment problems and periods when many rooms were vacant. He said the municipality had previously prioritised funding for the care home but could no longer afford it.

Charlotte Pedersen moved from Zealand to Lohals two and a half years ago partly to be near her mother, who is 90 and lives at Stigtebo. She said the closure would change both their lives. Pedersen had imagined moving to the care home herself if she could no longer live independently, and worries about what support will be available to other residents.

Arne Ullum, a municipal finance analyst and editor-in-chief of NB Kommune, said poorer municipalities such as Langeland often have to limit services to what the law requires. Extra support, including frequent cleaning and additional staff for activities, is among the services they may have to cut, he said.