One of the most discussed topics during this election has been the current state of the elderly care and future challenges.
- Although there is a need for more SOSU assistants and helpers (social and healthcare assistants), the focus from the “blue parties” has been on allowing the elderly to refuse a SOSU assistant/helper if they don’t feel safe around them. One of the candidates from Nye Borgerlige went so far as to say that the elderly can refuse a helper even if it is on discriminatory grounds, if the helper wears a scarf or is “Italian, gay or Jewish”. Due to public pressure, Venstre, Liberal Alliance, and Konservative changed their opinion and said that the elderly cannot discriminate against SOSU helpers.
- Radikale Venstre wants to make it easier for people from outside the European Union to come to Denmark and work in elderly care, to solve the current employment crisis.
- Konservative made a proposal for improving the current state of elderly care – public elderly homes should be run democratically by an elected local board that also contains representatives from the relatives; make it easier to identify bad workers and fire them; more unannounced supervisory visits; SOSU helpers should also get authorization to work in the field; elderly home leaders should transition from screens straight to the middle of the action; a private elderly home in every municipality; elderly homes should have a resident doctor.
