In the middle
Status: 03/23/2023 05:18 am
In inpatient hospices, the dying are accompanied to the end. But in some regions of Germany there are not enough places. And then there is the shortage of staff.
Patricia Mollnau spreads jam on a slice of toast and cuts it into small pieces. It is 10 a.m. in the Christophorus Hospice in Mainz. In the hospital it would now be time for the rounds, here the nurse is preparing breakfast for an elderly gentleman who is sitting at the table reading the newspaper.
The clocks tick differently in the hospice. “Each guest determines their own daily routine,” she says. “Some sleep until 12 and only have breakfast then, others don’t want to eat anything at all. We only cater to the wishes of the guests.”
guests, not patients
Anyone who comes to the hospice is a guest, not a patient. Because it is no longer possible to cure her illness. Only alleviation of the symptoms through palliative care with medication and other treatment methods.
Those who move into the hospice know that they will die soon. Just like Claudia Weber. The 50-year-old has been suffering from cancer for many years and her disease is progressing. She has been bedridden for a few months and has been living here in the hospice for a few weeks because care at home was no longer possible. The burden for her husband and twelve-year-old son was too great.
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A precious life to the end
Nurse Patricia Mollnau massages her legs to reduce the swelling. “We want to offer people the best possible quality of life here,” explains Mollnau. “For us, it’s not just about dying, but above all about life – and that should be valuable, right up to the end.”
This personal attention also makes a good care ratio possible, explains Mollnau, because here each caregiver takes care of a maximum of four guests.
Nurse Patricia Mollnau from the Christophorus Hospice in Mainz.
Image: SWR
Eight beds – far too few
The Christophorus Hospice in Mainz has eight beds. Prospective customers call several times a day, reports deputy nursing manager Carmen Zimmermann. Not only private individuals and relatives, but also hospitals and care facilities that want to transfer patients to the hospice.
“Unfortunately, we often have to put off callers because we simply don’t have enough capacity,” explains Zimmermann. It’s frustrating, especially when she senses the distress of the people on the other end of the line. Zimmermann then refers the callers to other hospices in the region or, if it is urgent, to outpatient palliative services.
View of a living room in the Christophorus Hospice in Mainz.
Image: SWR
About 260 stationary hospices in Germany
According to the German Hospice and Palliative Association (DHPV), there are around 260 inpatient hospices for adults and 19 such facilities for children, adolescents and young adults throughout Germany. In addition, there are around 340 palliative care units in hospitals, where seriously ill people are also cared for. In addition, there are 1,500 outpatient hospice services and so-called teams of specialized outpatient palliative care (SAPV).
Regional undersupply
Overall, the care of dying people in Germany is guaranteed, explains a spokeswoman for the DHPV. But in some regions the need for stationary hospice places is greater than the supply. In some places, especially in rural areas and in the east, there is an undersupply.
A solution to the supply gap in Mainz and the surrounding area is already in sight: a new hospice is being built in Ingelheim near the state capital, reports Markus Hansen, head of Caritas Altenhilfe St. Martin Rheinhessen gGmbH, which acts as the sponsor. It should be finished next year and offer ten places.
Too few nurses
That’s good, says Hansen, but it also brings new challenges. Because it is already difficult to motivate people for the nursing profession. The shortage of skilled workers is well known. “If we now want to recruit nurses for our new hospice, then we’ll pull them out of hospitals or nursing facilities at the same time,” says Hansen.
In such a situation, building more hospices across the board is not the solution: “As long as we have no staff, we cannot create any new places.” Instead, outpatient hospice care must be strengthened in some regions.