Informal care – the voluntary help provided by family members, neighbours or friends to those who can no longer carry out certain activities independently for health reasons – has long played a crucial role in elderly care. According to the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), one in three people in the Netherlands provides some form of informal care. This can range from occasionally running errands to offering intensive daily support.
But will there be enough informal care available in the future to meet the growing demand? We asked Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam’s sociologist and informal-care expert Marjolein Broese van Groenou.
A shifting care landscape
Since many residential care homes have closed, older people are living at home for longer and are increasingly reliant on support from those around them. In theory, this should have led to a rise in the number of informal carers. Yet the long-running Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA), conducted by VU Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC, shows that this is not (yet) the case.
“Our research shows that informal care does not automatically increase as the population ages,” says Broese van Groenou. “That’s partly because people now tend to need help later in life, meaning that the need for extra informal care can be postponed. In addition, some elderly people are opting for other forms of support, such as private agencies that tailor care to their needs, often paid for themselves. But not everyone can afford that. The challenge is to maintain adequate care in the future – also for those with limited financial means.”
The pressure of combining work with care
Another major challenge lies in combining work with informal care. Around one in five working people combine a job with caring responsibilities – a situation that often brings significant stress and logistical pressures.
“Employers can play a crucial role here,” Broese van Groenou explains. “But only if they know what’s going on and what arrangements are available, such as taking care leave or using a mantelzorgmakelaar: a professional who helps informal carers navigate the care system. That knowledge is still far from universal among employers.”
In collaboration with the GAK Institute, VU Amsterdam is researching how work and care can be better combined. According to Broese van Groenou, the key lies in working together: “Health insurers, municipalities, employers and informal-care organisations must jointly create the right conditions to make caring alongside work feasible and sustainable. Employers and employees can then discuss what solutions are possible, both at work (such as working from home or taking care leave) and within the care situation itself (such as by hiring additional help through a personal care budget).”
Informal care in election season: more than just recognition needed
On paper, informal care is well-organised in the Netherlands, says Broese van Groenou. There are national support centres, the government has a care policy agenda, and advocacy takes place through organisations like mantelzorg.nl and Werk&Mantelzorg. Many collective labour agreements also include provisions to support informal carers.
In practice, however, things don’t always run smoothly. “Access to support is often too bureaucratic and confusing,” Broese van Groenou notes. “Many carers get lost in the maze of rules and authorities. Municipalities do have support points, but not everyone knows where to find them.”
As the elections approach, almost every political party has included informal care in its manifesto. “Politics now needs to steer towards care networks in which informal care, professional care and supplementary support come together,” Broese van Groenou stresses. “That requires making it easier to combine care financed under different schemes – such as the Social Support Act (Wmo), Health Insurance Act (Zvw) and Long-term Care Act (Wlz) – without drowning in a sea of paperwork.
“Informal care is indispensable, but it is not an infinite resource. Looking to the future, an ageing society demands political choices, smart collaboration and greater attention to the capacity of people who – alongside their work, families and lives – also care for someone else.”