Nursing assistance even with hospitalization

There is also a claim to nursing assistance during hospital stays, when the clinic caregivers can not afford a very high nursing care due to a lack of time

06/26/2014

Even during a stay in the hospital, people in need of care are entitled to care assistance. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialrecht of the Deutscher Anwaltverein (DAV) points to a landmark decision by the Social Court in Munich (file reference: S 32 SO 473/10). However, the prerequisite for the assumption of costs for a nursing assistant is that the nursing staff in the clinic are overtaxed with the care of those in need of long-term care due to time constraints.

Hospital caregivers are often overwhelmed by the need to care for severely dependent patients due to lack of time
A patient suffering from a severe form of spasticity had to be hospitalized in hospital. At home, for example, the woman takes home care of a good five hours a day and a care allowance of up to 16 hours a day. For the regularly returning hospitalization, the disabled woman applied to her health insurance company for assistance by a nursing assistant. The application was rejected. Then she complained before the Social Court of Munich - with success.

In the opinion of the judges, the nurses in the hospital can usually not meet the very high requirements of patients in need of long-term care. The lack of time does not allow the necessary care. This has also confirmed the clinic in which the woman was treated. The patient is therefore dependent on the nursing assistance in their therapy, the court said. The costs must therefore be borne. (Ag)