Taking into account the needs of seniors: this is the guideline of the information report validated Monday evening by the General Council of Neuchâtel. The Municipal Council has drawn up an overview of the measures already in place: coffee meetings in different neighborhoods, exploratory walks aimed at identifying obstacles in public spaces, heatwave and extreme cold plan, delivery services, etc. The objective is to further intensify these measures in the years to come in order to keep seniors healthy and moving, while strengthening their social integration.
Increase the number of supervised housing units
The authorities have also given themselves the mission of developing housing with supervision, “which risks being lacking”, according to the elected Green’liberal Sylvie Hofer Carbonnier who recalled that, according to estimates, “the number of people aged 65 and over will increase by 30% by 2040 to reach 10,700 people in the municipality. The lack of places in EMS was also noted.
For Béatrice Nys, from the Verts/Pop/Sol group, the City has a “coordinating role” to play between the Canton and the various associations that help seniors. The Commune’s information mission was indeed mentioned by several elected officials.
The PS group, through the voice of Ariane Huguenin, for its part pointed out the digital divide. “It is already complicated for some to order a simple parking sticker online,” declared the elected official.
Strengthening the fight against the shortage of general practitioners
The Municipal Council will, however, have to review its copy on one point. The legislature refused to classify a motion calling for promoting the succession of local medicine.
The response to the problem of the shortage of primary care doctors was deemed insufficient by the General Council. For Marc-Olivier Sauvain of the PLR group, “we will not be able to meet the needs of the aging population”. In his eyes, the Municipality must be “proactive” to attract doctors. Greens/Pop/Sol elected official Aline Chapuis agreed with this, believing that the shortage is already being felt. Part of his group was therefore waiting for more information to quantify this reality and more concrete measures. It appears that to date, the FTE density of family doctors stands at 1.2 per 1,000 inhabitants in the Municipality. This figure could, however, fall to 0.9 per 1,000 inhabitants from 2028, below the recommended value of 1.0, according to the report.
Note also that the Municipality of Neuchâtel has a delegate for the elderly in its ranks. The objective of such a position is in particular to develop a “senior reflex” in the various policies. /sbm
