There have been many complaints from residents and relatives, addressed to very different places such as the home supervision in the Miesbach district office or the services of the nursing care insurance companies. And yet it took several years until the Schliersee senior citizens’ residence had to close last autumn due to serious lack of care. At the time, the public prosecutor’s office had long been investigating suspected physical harm to a total of 88 people, some of whom were obviously neglected and some who were malnourished. Nevertheless, the last 14 residents were accommodated in a home run by the same operator in Augsburg, where serious care deficiencies soon became public. As a reaction to this care scandal and the harsh criticism of the opposition in the state parliament, the state government has now set up the new Bavaria-wide contact point “Pflege-SOS Bayern”. It has already found considerable demand in its first week.
As Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) announced on Wednesday, there have already been 61 contacts in a short time, mainly by telephone. 35 cases were specific complaints, including 19 “with a clear degree of complaint”. This means, for example, the supply deficits of residents in care facilities. Overall, according to Holetschek’s message, both workers from the care sector and residents and their relatives report. It is definitely also about simpler requests for advice, such as labor law, the assessment of the medical service or the benefits of long-term care insurance. “Questions can often be clarified directly,” says Holetschek. “Our new contact point has been well received. I am pleased that those affected are confidently contacting us with their concerns.”
The well-being of the residents is the top priority
According to the Ministry of Health, every report is recorded in detail and passed on to the responsible authorities – anonymously if desired. Some of the complaints were forwarded to the respective specialist department for nursing and disabled facilities, where the reports will now be followed up and the associated facilities checked. The minister emphasized: “It is still undisputed that good work is being done in care in Bavaria. It is all the more important that complaints are looked at closely and relentlessly clarified.” He assures that every concern and every complaint will be taken seriously. “The top priority is the well-being and protection of the residents in Bavarian nursing homes.”
The offer, which was set up together with the Bavarian State Office for Nursing, is part of a five-point plan that the Minister of Health presented in February as a consequence of the incidents in a nursing home in Augsburg. This includes, for example, an expert opinion on improving the structures. Holetschek said in February: “People in Bavaria must be able to trust that care and support in all Bavarian nursing homes is guaranteed well and appropriately. However, the most recent allegations against a nursing home in Augsburg show that we are taking a close look at the structures and controls and have to act.” The city of Augsburg prohibited the home from operating in February, just as the Miesbach district office had previously done in the case of the Schliersee senior citizens’ residence.
The SPD health expert Ruth Waldmann praised the state government’s five-point plan in principle, but at the same time criticized it as much too late. The proposals have been on the table for years and have always been rejected by the state government. The care problem was never fundamentally addressed.
“Pflege-SOS Bayern”, free of charge by phone (09621) 966 966 0 or by email to [email protected]