Holetschek insists on comprehensive care reform
16.08.2022 12:20
Bavaria's Health and Care Minister Klaus Holetschek is insisting that the federal government comprehensively reform the legal framework for long-term care and thus also enable more staff. Holetschek emphasized on August 14th on the occasion of the publication of the new Bavarian Health Report from the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL): "Long-term care is one of the major challenges for society as a whole in the coming years and decades. The staffing situation in care is already tense - and "We know that the situation will get even worse. The new LGL report also makes this clear. That's why the federal government must act quickly. In view of the rapidly increasing number of people in need of care, a structural and financial reform of long-term care insurance is also essential."
The health report 2/2022 of LGL deals in detail with the trends in geriatric care and provides a generally understandable overview of the situation. This also includes the most current data from the Bavarian State Office for Statistics (LfStat) from 2019. The minister explained: “In 2019, there were 491,996 people in need of care in the Free State. Of these, more than 400,000 people were older than 65 years. And we know that the Bavarian population is getting older. By 2040, more than a quarter of the population will be over 65 years old. Since the risk of needing care increases with increasing age, the number of people in need of care will continue to grow.”
Holetschek added: “This naturally increases the need for nursing staff. A report from our ministry last year made it clear: The nursing capacities in half of all Bavarian districts and independent cities must be increased by a good 50 percent in order to continue to meet the nursing needs of citizens. That’s around 19,600 more nursing staff and around 19,200 full-time assistants by 2040.”
In addition to the care needs forecast, the Bavaria Health Report 2/2022 also deals, among other things, with the consequences of the corona pandemic for those in need of care. As a result, over half of the COVID-19-Deaths in Germany were cared for by an outpatient care service or lived in an inpatient care facility. The report also refers to the Bavarian outpatient COVID-19 Monitor (BaCoM). The already known interim results of the study make it clear that the corona pandemic was and is a severe psychological burden for those in need of care as well as for caring relatives. The report also sheds light on nursing care and prevention offers in the Free State.
The minister emphasized: “Preparing care for the future is a mammoth task that we have to tackle now! We must focus our efforts on retaining existing nursing staff and at the same time attracting more employees to the nursing profession. One thing is clear: only satisfied nursing staff can ensure that those in need of care feel comfortable.”
Holetschek explained: “The course must now be set for more attractive conditions for the nursing profession. I presented key points for a future-proof care reform well over a year ago. One thing is clear: there must be a willingness across society to invest more money in nursing care! In particular, non-insurance long-term care insurance benefits must be refinanced through taxes. Bavaria has introduced a Federal Council initiative to provide additional tax benefits than before for surcharges for weekend and night work as well as overtime. The federal government must act now.”
The minister emphasized: “It is clear to me: retaining qualified specialists in nursing and recruiting new ones is a central task of a sustainable nursing policy. Attractive working conditions can only be achieved across the board in a solidly financed and significantly simplified system. The federal government must not put the issue on the back burner. The need for reform is great – and time is of the essence. The aim of a care reform must be to consistently simplify, make more flexible and relieve the burden! We cannot afford for those in need of care, carers and care providers to lack the time to provide the best possible care because they are busy dealing with structures that are too complicated. I presented key points for a future-proof care reform in March 2021. This also includes tax subsidies for nursing care insurance in order to keep benefits stable in the long term.”
The new health report 2/2022 LGL You can find out about trends in geriatric care at www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/lgl_gesrep_00017.htm.