How big is the problem with confused people?
“Everyone knows someone who exhibits confused behavior. This could be in your own environment, with friends and family or on the street.”
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These people often seem to fall through the cracks.
“That is so deeply sad. People who exhibit confused behavior have impaired brain function. This can have all kinds of causes, such as schizophrenia or substance use. It is important that they receive help so that they can function, but despite all assistance, they often fall through the cracks. The waiting lists are extremely long and sometimes – at the time they are tested – it is just not bad enough, so that agencies have to let someone else go first. An incident can still occur two days later. They are often snapshots.
During the recording I was told: everyone sees a part of the film, but no one sees the whole film. And the people who do see it and sound the alarm – friends, family, colleagues – are running up against draconian legislation. Is someone spouting gibberish and sending strange messages? If nothing criminal has happened, the police cannot do anything. Is there a psychologist involved? Then the mental health service refers there. In this way, people are pumped around endlessly in the system.”
What should happen?
“No one monitors the big picture. There should be an umbrella organization within mental health care that does this. It maps out what happened to whom, what incidents took place, what help was provided and continues to motivate people.
We should also be less aggressive with privacy and proactively share information. I think it is better to say sorry afterwards than to let the relatives know: we are sorry, we didn’t have a good feeling about it, but we did not report it for privacy reasons. But I realize that the best helmsmen are on shore. The people who work with confused people do everything they can.
I found it striking to see how much the police are being overextended. As soon as a service starts, this problem comes to the fore. It’s good that people know where to find the police. People really care about each other. They call when they hear the neighbor screaming, not because they experience a nuisance, but because they are concerned. Unfortunately, the police can’t do anything about that. He goes there, but can’t do anything.”
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How time-intensive was making this series?
“This has been a six to seven year process and we have been filming for three years. I have been ill for a long time and not everything worked or was possible (immediately). The regulations are strict and before we shot a shot, we had often already had fifteen conversations: about safety, our goal and our intentions. It was very delicate.
It was rocket science to find out what the minimum we needed to make a point without causing people extra grief. That is why there is a lot that is not in the documentary.
Many people had doubts. Do I dare say on TV that I have voices in my head? Then everyone will know. That doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why I never work to a tight deadline. It is only finished when everyone who participated feels happy. I hope and pray that we have made the right decisions and that we have succeeded in giving everyone a voice and a face.”
‘Confused’ can be seen on NPO3 on Tuesday evening at 8.27 pm.
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