While many nursing staff are increasingly at their limits according to current figures, patient advocates are calling for significantly more support. Health Minister Lauterbach also admits major problems.
According to a recent evaluation, sickness-related absences among nursing staff in homes and clinics have increased. As the Techniker Krankenkasse determined based on its own insured data, the nursing staff working there were on sick leave for an average of 29.8 days last year. In 2022 there were still 28.8 days and in 2021 there was an average of 23.3 days. Across all professional groups, those insured by the fund were on sick leave for an average of 18.6 days in 2023.
The sickness rate in the nursing sector is therefore much higher than in other professional fields, the fund emphasized on the occasion of Nurses’ Day. This is “an unmistakable signal that reflects the heavy strain caused by the physically and mentally demanding everyday working life,” said Deputy Chairman Thomas Ballast. In view of the international day of action, the German Foundation for Patient Protection called for more financial support for home care for relatives.
The situation in geriatric care is particularly tense
As the evaluation by the Techniker Krankenkasse also shows, the situation is particularly tense in geriatric care. The absences in this area were longer at 34.2 days than in nursing at 28 days.
According to the data, on average, 6.2 days of absence in nursing last year were due to respiratory illnesses, 5.9 days to mental illnesses and 5.1 days to back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders. According to its own information, the fund evaluated the data of 5.7 million insured employees from all professions.
The responsible health minister, Karl Lauterbach (SPD), also sees that the situation in care is getting worse. “We have allowed major problems in care,” said Lauterbach a few days ago at the Doctors’ Day in Mainz. Every sixth shift is now understaffed. “The high level of disillusionment in nursing is also due to the massive work overload of the nursing staff,” admitted the minister.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, nowhere is the personnel shortage as great as in nursing. Last year, almost 1.7 million nursing staff were employed in regular jobs in nursing, geriatric and pediatric care – 10,000 more than in the previous year. 82 percent of all employees in this area are women. Of these 1.39 million women, just over one in two work part-time.
Patient advocates for more support for care at home
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around five million people in Germany need care. Most of them – around four million – are cared for at home.
The German Foundation for Patient Protection is calling on the federal government to allocate more money for home care. “Without this strenuous commitment of the mostly female relatives, geriatric care would have collapsed long ago,” said board member Eugen Brysch of the German Press Agency. “So that the federal government can help immediately, the care allowance must be increased immediately and across the board by 300 euros.” This creates some breathing room in view of the increased cost of living, explained Brysch.
For working people, a tax-financed “care time allowance” is overdue, which functions like parental allowance for mothers and fathers after the birth. Brysch criticized that the government has so far been abandoning those in need of care at home and their relatives. Many families are at an end mentally, physically and financially.
During a conversation with the editorial network Germany in Potsdam at the weekend, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) promised that he would not make cuts in the care or safety of sick people despite pressure to save money.
Reform: Relief for those in need of care at home
A reform by Health Minister Lauterbach, which has been in effect since the beginning of the year, already provides relief for those in need of care at home. The care allowance, which was last increased in 2017, rose by five percent. It can be used freely, for example for care. If employees have to take care of close relatives and therefore do not go to work, they can apply for wage replacement benefits. This is now possible for up to ten working days per year; previously it was only ten working days per person in need of care.
The federal government is also trying to address the Herculean task of nursing shortages beyond home care – for example by recruiting skilled workers from abroad and supporting further training. One thing is clear: the pressure to act is increasing. More and more older people in Germany also mean more and more people in need of care. According to scientific forecasts, the number of people in need of care is likely to increase by around one million within 15 years.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
