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Psychiatric clinics in Germany: 43 percent with staff gaps

2023-02-02T17:41:57.078Z


Almost alone on the ward: Since 2019 there have been binding figures on how many specialist staff have to work in psychiatric wards. It is only evident that they are often not complied with.


Everyday scene from a nursing home in Baden-Württemberg

Photo: DPA

Around two out of five psychiatric hospitals in Germany deployed fewer staff in the second half of 2021 than required nationwide.

This was the result of an evaluation by the Institute for Quality Assurance and Transparency in Healthcare, as announced by the Central Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV) on Thursday.

Around 39 percent of the psychiatric clinics for adults and around 52 percent of the hospitals for child and adolescent psychiatry did not comply with the minimum requirements.

“In the case of minimum requirements, we speak of a red line that must not be exceeded,” said GKV boss Doris Pfeiffer.

The guidelines protect patients from inadequate care and staff from being overworked.

With this first evaluation you finally get transparency.

Further reports should show whether improvements are being made in the hospitals.

A guideline issued in 2019 regulates the minimum number of employees who must be present in the clinics in order to be able to properly care for patients.

This involves doctors and psychologists as well as nursing staff, therapists and social workers.

The actual staffing levels must be documented by the clinics for each ward and reported quarterly.

For the survey, the data were compared with the specifications.

Money possibly misused

There were problems in meeting the requirements, especially in nursing and some therapy areas.

Data from the third and fourth quarters of 2021 was used for the report.

On average, 141 child and adolescent psychiatric facilities and 759 adult facilities reported their staff levels during this period.

The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds criticized the fact that money from health insurance companies for staff – as has already happened in the past – may be misappropriated.

In addition, the association sees in the figures not only an expression of the shortage of skilled workers, but also a structural problem: there are basically too many people who are admitted as inpatients.

Alternatives such as day clinics are not used enough.

The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds represents the health and long-term care insurance funds with their 73 million policyholders in dealings with politicians, doctors, pharmacists and hospitals.

mamk/dpa-AFX

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2023-02-02

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