Higher costs, incomprehensible bills, visiting restrictions in the pandemic – the number of complaints has increased in the past year. Some of the deficiencies are serious.
The number of complaints in the area of elderly care has risen by 54 percent in the past ten years and reached a maximum of 262 in the previous year. The municipal complaints office for problems relating to care for the elderly recorded a total of 483 complaints for the years 2019 and 2020. Around 50 percent of these concerned nursing homes, around 40 percent outpatient care services and ten percent other forms of care such as assisted living. In addition to care issues, the main focus of outpatient services was on contractual and billing issues and, in the case of homes, the high costs with growing personal contributions.
The home supervision department in the district administration department also received more complaints about nursing homes for the elderly: The number rose from 86 to a total of 104 in the two-year period, which, according to the home supervisory authority, also has to do with the pandemic-related restrictions on visits.
In 2019, the inspectors found no deficiencies in a total of 90 of the 146 tests in the 63 senior citizens’ facilities in Munich. In 27 cases, complaints were made about deficiencies in maintenance and documentation. They mainly concerned mobilization, nutrition and hydration, as well as the prevention and prevention of pressure sores and falls. In 29 cases there were deficiencies in the personnel area, mainly because skilled worker quotas were not adhered to. In five cases, the home supervisor took action against the owners of senior citizens’ facilities with orders threatened by fines in order to remedy repeatedly identified or significant deficiencies.
Six homes agreed to freeze new residents until the quality deficits have been remedied. In the Corona year 2020, there were significantly fewer regular checks; according to the district administration department, they had been temporarily suspended by the Ministry of Health due to the pandemic.
Usually it is the relatives who turn to the complaints office for problems of elderly care. But the proportion of those affected who complain has doubled to 30 percent in the last ten years, writes the complaints office in its report for the city council. Often it can no longer be clarified afterwards whether the complaints are justified. But in 2019 alone, 42 percent of the content of the complaint could be confirmed according to the research of the city office.
In the homes, the focus was on treatment care services, such as the administration of medication, and basic care, such as assistance with eating. Often personal wishes were not taken into account. There was a lot of criticism for the rapid increase in the personal contributions to be paid for the services in the nursing home. In many cases, more than 3000 euros per month have to be raised in addition to the benefits of long-term care insurance. The law on the further development of health care only provides partial relief. In the outpatient sector, there were most frequent problems with billing, which many of those affected found incomprehensible and incomprehensible.