A record 9,400 elderly people were ordered to move to specialist care facilities last year following court rulings, the Telegraaf reported on Thursday.

Forced removal is increasingly being used by local authorities and social workers, as well as family members, who are concerned that elderly people with dementia living alone may pose a growing risk to themselves and others, the paper said.

In 2020, following a change in the law, around 8,000 elderly people were relocated to nursing homes or specialist dementia units.

“The increase is down to the population is getting older, and older people have smaller social networks and often face multiple health issues,” Jan Broer of Groningen’s regional health board told the paper.

“In particular, the group of elderly people living alone are less able to live independently,” said Broer, who has been researching the rise in forced removals.

Family members and friends have often died, and children may live far away, he said. This means there are fewer people to monitor their well-being.

Much of the problem could have been prevented if traditional residential homes for pensioners had not been phased out, he said.