Care emergency in Germany 25,000 specialists are missing

Study examines the current situation in inpatient care

The German Institute for Applied Nursing Research e.V. (DIP) in Cologne recently published a representative nationwide survey on the current situation in the care sector. As a result, 17,000 nursing care positions can not be filled due to a shortage of skilled workers. According to the study, 25,000 additional skilled workers are needed to fill this gap.

In the so-called Care Thermometer 2018, the DIP summarizes the results of the study. It showed that the care facilities are already reaching the limits of resilience and sometimes already exceed. 71 percent of the institutions have indicated that waiting lists exist for full-time long-term care places. 83 percent have to regularly reject requests for admission. In addition, 42 percent of the institutions said that they could either provide no or too few short-term care places. Only 38 percent said their care was fully secured.

According to a comprehensive report by the German Institute for Applied Nursing Research, the future of nursing facilities looks bad if comprehensive measures are not taken. (Image: De Visu / fotolia.com)

Specialist staff as a bottleneck

"The staff shortages lead to waiting lists and cancellations in care requests in the facilities," reports study leader Professor Michael Isfort in a press release on the study results. In more than one in five operations, there is a temporary cessation of reception due to staff shortages. The existing staff was exposed to extreme stress. This shows, according to Isfort also in the increased disease losses and by increased jumping on days off.

What does the situation of the residents look like??

The report also describes changes in home residents. Leaders indicated that on average, two in three residents suffer from neurocognitive disorders (for example, dementias such as Alzheimer's disease). 82 percent noted an increase in complex medical problems. Addiction problems, loneliness and neglect have also increased. Thus, growing problems face a shrinking number of staff.

Nursing home and psychiatry in one?

Due to the increasing number of neurocognitive disorders, the homes also increasingly have to develop the character of a gerontopsychiatric specialist institution in order to be able to secure a dignified and palliative accompaniment at the end of life.

Not only bad news

Current legal reforms were able to bring the first relief. "Measures of de-bureaucratization seem to actually lead to relief for staff and greater clarity of documentation," says Isfort. But there are still many other bureaucratic areas that need to be cleaned up. As an example Isfort calls elaborate, but not very meaningful quality measurements. "A clear rejection is given to the nursing TÜV in its current form," explains Isfort.

Nursing degrees instead of care levels

A key change is the conversion of care levels into care levels. This change is seen critically by many institutions. The main concern of many caregivers is that the changeover will lower the number of long-term care cases, resulting in financial losses. One possible result would be that facilities primarily accommodate people with high levels of care. (Vb)