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Corona virus – Barmer report sounds the alarm: “Nursing homes are still hotspots”

2022-11-29T16:03:53.989Z


According to Barmer, nurses are struggling with the corona virus more than ever before. Health insurance boss Christoph Straub demands “a corona concept with a sense of proportion” – especially for those in need of protection.


Enlarge image

Residents of an old people’s home: »The weakest and most vulnerable people live in the nursing home«

Photo: Bernd Weißbrod / picture alliance / dpa

According to a study by the Barmer health insurance company, nursing staff have never been so badly affected by Corona as this year: since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, not nearly as many nursing staff have been unable to work due to a corona infection as in 2022. The health insurance company refers to its own insured data.

As can be seen from the Barmer nursing report, in July 2022 almost 40 times as many nursing professionals in facilities were on sick leave due to a Covid 19 infection than in the same month of the previous year.

In March, the previous peak since the beginning of the pandemic was reached with 158 sick leave per 10,000 inpatient nursing staff.

Compared to March 2021, there were 14 times as many sick leave reports.

Corona measures are currently being reduced further and further, up to and including the lifting of the obligation to isolate in some federal states, said Barmer boss Christoph Straub: "But nursing homes are still corona hotspots."

Those in need of care were also severely affected by the respective corona waves.

At the peak of the second wave, in December 2020, 55 percent of those who died with Covid 19 were in need of inpatient care.

At the end of the fourth wave in December 2021, it was still 30 percent.

"The weakest and most vulnerable people who still need our protection live in the nursing home," said Straub.

It is therefore still necessary to have “a corona concept with a sense of proportion, especially for those in need of protection”.

fear for relatives

As can also be seen from the care report, the number of people receiving full inpatient care fell right at the beginning of the pandemic.

The number of people who switched from home care to a home fell from over 25,000 in April 2018 and 2019 to around 17,000 in May 2020. This corresponds to a decrease of around a third.

One reason was apparently that the relatives were afraid for the health of those in need of care.

Only later in the course of the pandemic did the number of people who moved into homes increase again.

This also had some financial implications.

According to the report, there were additional expenses in outpatient and inpatient care facilities, for example for staff, and reduced income, among other things due to unoccupied places in homes.

Another large block of costs was the expenditure for antigen tests from October 2020.

The bottom line is that the amounts for care rescue packages, antigen tests and corona care premiums for the care insurance companies added up to more than nine billion euros by the first quarter of 2022.

According to Barmer, despite subsequent tax subsidies, 6.4 billion euros remained open at the end of the first quarter of 2022.

ptz/dpa/AFP

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2022-11-29

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