Improved medical care for migrants

Better medical care for migrants announced

04/03/2015

People with a migration background have a hard time not only in their careers in Germany, but also in the healthcare sector. The integration commissioner of the Federal Government wants to change this. On Tuesday, the kick-off event of the priority year took place: „Health and care in the immigration society“ instead of.

Migrants are not adequately involved in the health system
Migrants should be better able to find their way around the German health care system in the future. So far immigrants are not adequately integrated into the health system, according to the Federal Government's Integration Commissioner Aydan Özoguz (SPD). As the „world“ reported, explained the State Minister on the example of the millionth guest worker, how it should not run. So Armando Rodrigues from Portugal was solemnly welcomed in 1964 and received a moped as a gift. Ten years later he has cancer. „He did not know that he could be treated in Germany“, Özoguz told the prelude of the focal year „Health and care in the immigration society“. She continued: „He went back to Portugal and spent almost everything he earned here on his medical care.“

Communication difficulties between doctor and patient
The key message of the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration is that migrants do not participate adequately in the German health system. Accordingly, immigrants do not take precautionary measures or rehab cures at the same rate, often suffer workplace accidents or receive inadequate treatment as doctors and patients do not properly understand each other. At the beginning of the theme year, the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health, Annette Widmann-Mauz (CDU) said: „In legislative projects in our house, the special situation of migrants should be taken into account more.“

Federal Health Minister sees need for action
The cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the Commissioner for Integration is already a foregone conclusion. Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe (CDU) sees a need for action. Since there are only few reliable figures on the subject, the Berlin Robert Koch Institute (RKI) will initially carry out a health study, which focuses on the situation of children and young people with a migrant background. This is intended to create a reliable data basis.

More and more people with a migration background need care
According to Mrs. Özoguz, in Germany there will be 2.8 million elderly people with an immigration history in 15 years. That is 1.2 million more than currently. In particular, this group needed a culturally familiar environment in which, for example, their dietary habits or even religious traditions were taken into account. In addition, it is important to make better use of the potential of young people with a migrant background, for example for nursing professions. „First and foremost we want to look at the language mediation“, Özoguz said. „It often happens that the patient does not understand the doctor - and vice versa. We also have doctors from abroad who in turn do not understand their patients.“

Better care of refugees
The health care of refugees and asylum seekers will also be treated intensively in the priority year. So far, in the first 15 months of their stay in Germany, they only receive limited health care, which covers the costs of a doctor's visit only for acute illnesses and pain. Gerd Schulte-Körne from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Munich recently criticized this fact. The expert, who currently leads the congress of the German Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy (DGKJP), had stated that refugee children who are increasingly seeking refuge in Germany after traumatic events even without parents are at high risk of depression suffer. Furthermore, it was reported in the light of the current measles wave in Berlin that there should be a central injection site at the Berlin State Office for Health and Social Affairs (Lageso) until the summer in order to improve health protection for refugees. (Ad)