Emergencies
No night staff: nursing home nurse calls emergency number
However, police officers and fire department paramedics did not have to work the night shift in the home. photo
© Soeren Stache/dpa
More than a hundred old people in a Berlin home must be constantly cared for and, in emergencies, provided with medication. But no one was assigned to do that that night. A nurse dialed 110.
Because the necessary nursing staff for the night was missing in a Berlin old people’s and nursing home Police and fire brigade arrived.
When a nurse at the home in Berlin-Lichtenberg wanted to end her shift on Tuesday evening, she discovered that the following night shift was not sufficiently staffed, a police spokeswoman said. There was a lack of a qualified nurse with qualifications to administer certain medications. The plan for the night shift only included two nursing assistants. During the night, 170 old people were to be cared for with all levels of care.
“The geriatric nurse then tried to call the emergency service and subsequently also the home management, but was unsuccessful,” said the police spokeswoman. “In this emergency situation, she then contacted the police and fire department.” The call was received by the police at around 10:30 p.m. and a patrol car with three police officers drove to the nursing home. The fire department sent ambulances with several paramedics.
However, police officers and fire department paramedics did not have to work the night shift in the home. First, the responsible district office and the disaster control officer could be reached. “Remedial action was taken and a solution was found,” said the police spokeswoman. It was then possible to get the home management on the phone. Someone from management then appeared on site and organized a night shift. The police ended the operation at around 12:10 a.m.
“The nurse did the right thing and made an emergency call.”
The Domicil group of companies, which operates the home, expressed its great regret in a statement. She spoke of 142 residents and emphasized that the nurse had acted correctly and made an emergency call. The plan included four people for the night: one specialist and three assistants. Due to an IT problem, the booking of a temporary worker with the appropriate qualifications was not sent by email as usual. “This error should have been noticed, as should the lack of confirmation.”
It continued: “In addition, both supervisors were unavailable that evening, either because the work telephone was not carried or because the telephone battery was discharged at this late hour and the telephone had switched off.” However, there was never any danger to the residents. The IT planning systems and emergency chains will now be critically examined to ensure that emergency accessibility is guaranteed at any time and from every office.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, there will probably be a shortage of between 280,000 and 690,000 nursing staff in Germany by 2049 due to the aging of society. There are currently 5 million people in need of care. There are around 16,000 nursing homes and around the same number of nursing services available for this purpose.