Trudy now: closed admission, missing care, and the steps taken

This is a factual account of Trudy’s situation at present, recorded by her family.

Where Trudy is now

Since 6 July 2026 Trudy has been held against her will in a closed facility in Amsterdam, far from her own home in Gouda, her GP and her familiar surroundings. She has clearly stated that she wants to return home.

Concerns about her care

According to her family the care is at present inadequate on several points:

• Trudy has severe COPD. Her essential airway medication (Ventolin) was not provided to her on arrival, despite shortness of breath.
• Her room has no alarm system (call button or alarm cord), so she cannot summon staff during acute breathlessness.
• There is no cooling in the room, an additional risk for a COPD patient in warm weather.
• On the evening of 6 July the facility could not be reached by telephone.
• Her son and representative was refused access to her.

The steps taken

The family is acting through the proper channels:

• A formal request has been submitted to the Municipality of Gouda for a copy of the underlying order and the medical declaration (case number 1708333).
• Specialist legal assistance in the field of the Care and Compulsion Act (Wzd) has been engaged with urgency.
• It is the express wish of Trudy and her family that she return to her own home, with the home care she has asked for — which the family wishes to arrange at its own expense.

Outside the closest circle

The decision to admit Trudy by force was set in motion and carried out without the knowledge or consent of her son and his family, who strongly oppose it. Trudy’s regular caregivers and people from her immediate circle and neighbourhood are also shocked and support her wish to remain living at home. The family has serious questions about the way this measure came about, and has requested the underlying documents in order to have this reviewed. Until those documents have been received and assessed, the family makes no further statements about it.

No access, no contact

Trudy’s son wants her to return home immediately. At present, however, he is being denied access to the facility to visit her, without any written basis being provided. More recently, Trudy no longer answers his phone calls. For her son and his family this is extremely distressing: they cannot verify her condition, while serious concerns already exist about her health and the care she is receiving. The family urgently insists on immediate and unhindered contact.

Briefly: what is a compulsory admission under the Wzd?

An emergency admission (inbewaringstelling) under the Care and Compulsion Act lasts a very short period. To continue it, a court decision is required, and the legal representative has the right to be heard. The family is working to be present at that hearing.

This post will be updated as more becomes known.