Things need to change in North Holland North: a lot of skin cancer, dementia and alcoholism

The problem in the Kop van Noord-Holland is major: the aging population is continuing at a rapid pace, there is a lot of alcoholism, obesity and dementia, but there are also too few informal caregivers, healthcare personnel and there is a shortage of general practitioners. Elderly people will also have to solve this problem at home and digitally.

The healthcare sector believes things need to change. In fact, the region must become the healthiest region in the Netherlands by 2030. And so various healthcare organizations, the Mental Health Service, the GGD, municipalities and health insurers are joining forces. But is it also feasible?

Address the cause

“Let me say one thing: I think it is very good that this is being thought about and that this is being mapped out. A lot of money and attention is being paid to the current healthcare system, but not enough to health and prevention,” says Michiel Verkoulen of a consultancy firm. Careful Advice.

For example, the region wants a quarter less inequality of opportunity among young people and about a third less disease burden through a healthy lifestyle. Ambitions that Verkoulen only applauds. However, he still has some doubts about how this will be tackled. “I still miss that a little bit: what are you going to do to achieve that?”

According to Verkoulen, simply organizing healthcare differently is not enough. “We must also tackle the causes of health problems where they arise. There is still so much to be gained,” he believes. “Healthy food, cleaner air, that contributes much more.”

Debt causes stress

Colds will help the region get started. “Look, this is a good example,” he says, and addresses the debt problem in Den Helder and Hoorn. “People who are in debt often also suffer from other problems, such as long-term stress. These people simply have no room to think about anything other than their debts. And if you relieve this burden, you kill two or three birds in one fell swoop,” he explains. He points to Arnhem, where the municipality takes over the debt of fifty families in the poorest neighborhood of the city. “This really makes a difference.”

Verkoulen: “Or think of skin cancer, which is common in coastal municipalities. For example, provide free sunscreen at beach tents or create shaded areas, so that everyone can protect themselves well against the sun.” The municipalities of Hoorn and Dijk en Waard, among others, are already actively working on it installing dispensers in recreational areas and at shopping centers. “Or pay more attention to mental health in schools. If you do all this, you are already doing very well as a region.”

Too ambitious?

The aim to be the healthiest region in the Netherlands by 2030 may prove too ambitious, according to Verkoulen. “It is good to set a concrete goal for the coming years, because 2050 is still far too far away, even though there may be a good chance that they will not achieve it.”

Verkoulen: “Because the goal is so abstract and broad, it is difficult to determine whether you will achieve it. If you formulate more concrete, specific ambitions, there is a greater chance that you will achieve it.” And North Holland North is already doing well in the lists of health aspects, he thinks. “So if you improve on a few of these, there is no chance of being able to call yourself the healthiest region on the aspects you choose as objectives.”