The Barmer health insurance company warns of even more people in need of care and even fewer nursing staff than previously assumed. According to the latest projections, the nursing shortage in Bavaria is becoming more explosive than expected, according to the nursing report presented in Munich on Wednesday. By the year 2030, 4,000 more nursing staff would be needed than previously calculated; In addition, there will be around 751,000 people in need of care, 135,000 more than expected. This is an “alarming future trend”.
The increase in this new projection is due to the inclusion of several factors. The length of stay in care facilities has increased, it said. In addition, Barmer’s “future scenario” takes into account current changes in the law, in contrast to the previous “base projection”. As a result, the number of people in need of care will not only increase by 19.6 percent by 2030, but by 45 percent, by 69 percent (instead of 39 percent) by 2040 – always compared to the 2019 level then around 146,000 nursing staff needed in 2030; including 67,000 specialists and 27,000 unskilled workers as well as 52,000 unskilled workers.
It must finally be possible to inspire more people to take up caregiving, stressed Claudia Wöhler, Barmer’s Bavarian state manager. In order for the profession to become more attractive, it is important to introduce the right to family-friendly working hours and to do more for the physical and mental health of nursing staff. In addition, more targeted advertising is needed for training in nursing.
The care report makes it clear once again “that we are on the way to a humanitarian catastrophe,” said the spokesman for care policy for the Greens in the state parliament, Andreas Krahl. The already blatant supply gap continues to widen; instead of applause and bonuses, what is needed is fundamentally better pay and work-life balance for nursing staff. Access to a course of study in the field of nursing must also be made easier. Krahl: “Yes, that will cost money, federal and state governments, a lot of money.”
Because the number of caring relatives will also increase, their concerns must also be taken into account more. According to Barmer, three quarters of people in need of care are cared for by their relatives. They must be supported at an early stage, comprehensively advised and relieved of unnecessary bureaucracy, demanded Wöhler. Their health is also an important issue, especially in view of the shortage of skilled workers.