In the election year 2021, a political era in Germany ends - Angela Merkel is leaving.
VdK President Verena Bentele and the care employers say: The next government is facing major tasks.
Munich - With the
general election in September 2021
, an era will end for Germany - 16 years under the aegis of
Chancellor Angela Merkel *
(CDU).
Some German citizens will miss Merkel.
But it also seems clear that over the years some problems have built up and increased.
Perhaps precisely because of the Chancellor's characteristic political style.
Merkel usually reacted quickly to clear moods in the population.
But in other fields the long-awaited great success failed to materialize.
Federal election 2021: Merkel's era ends - many problems in nursing remain unsolved
These areas also include
caring for the oldest and most vulnerable people in Germany
.
It was not just the
Corona crisis
that showed problems: a shortage of nurses and the pay and working conditions of the nurses have long been a problem: "In principle, this emergency has existed since the 1990s," said Christian Reischl, at
ver.di in Munich
responsible for health, recently
Merkur.de
*.
It is true that “many young people”
have been
trained in care professions
in recent years
.
However, a large number of them were
"burned"
in the company.
“They say: I'm finishing my apprenticeship now, but I don't really want to work like that,” said the
trade unionist
.
The
ribs Digital Zentralredaktion
has briefly interviewed before the year ends other experts.
What must a
new federal government
- regardless of which party or coalition - do to improve the situation?
What has Angela Merkel missed in almost 16 years?
Verena Bentele
- the President of
Germany's largest social association VdK -
and Friedhelm Fiedler, Vice-President of the
Care Employers'
Association,
responded to these important questions
.
So two people with a different perspective on the topic.
However, they
all
agree on one point: The
next federal government has
to
face
major tasks - even “mammoth tasks”.
Germany after Angela Merkel: What needs to be done in care
The pain threshold for those affected has long been exceeded.
VdK President Verena Bentele on the situation of financially disadvantaged people in need of care.
Germany facing problems in care - VdK President Verena Bentele warns: “We need improvements!”
“The reforms in the care sector in recent years are not enough.
Far too often
caring relatives are overburdened
and the benefits of long-term care insurance fail to meet the needs of those affected.
We now need
extensive improvements
!
The need for long-term care remains a high risk of poverty.
To prevent this, we need an annual automatic adjustment of long-term care insurance benefits to the cost increases so that more and more people in need of care are not dependent on social assistance.
The
pain threshold for those affected has long been exceeded
: they have to pay an average of 2000 euros per month for a place in a home.
Therefore, the VdK advocates full care insurance that covers all care-related costs.
Even before the corona pandemic, the
situation in home care was extremely tense
.
The last few months have shown, as if under the magnifying glass, that the caregiving relatives urgently need sustainable support beyond the crisis.
The expansion of relief offers and a comprehensive network of care support points would be helpful here.
For the compatibility of care and work, the VdK also demands a
financed wage replacement
benefit analogous to the parental allowance for caring relatives.
As the largest social association in Germany, we give people in need of care and their relatives a voice.
That is why we commissioned a study on everyday nursing care in order to scientifically document our demands.
The study aims to show a comprehensive and differentiated picture of home care.
In the
election year 2021
, the VdK
will be
particularly critical of the proposals for maintaining the parties with initial study results and will
measure
the
next federal government against concrete steps
. "
Angela Merkel leaves: Nursing employers praise Spahn - and still see the need for reform
Jens Spahn has achieved a lot in a short period of time.
(...) But some things remained fragmentary.
Friedhelm Fiedler, Vice President of the Care Employers' Association, takes stock of the development of care under Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Germany and the problem area maintenance: Employer vice sees a “mammoth task” for the new federal government
“In
Angela Merkel's
long
chancellorship
, which began on November 22, 2005, a total of five ministers were responsible for care for the elderly in very different government coalitions.
Jens Spahn
has been in office since March 14, 2018.
And as Minister of Health, he achieved a lot in a short period of time.
Before the Spahn era, Chancellor Merkel introduced the
Care Development Act
, the
Care Reorientation Act
and the
Care Strengthening
Act to improve the situation of those in need of care.
There are
care support centers
nationwide established, outpatient and inpatient services were gradually increased.
The services for people with dementia in outpatient care have been increased and the options and options for those in need of care and their relatives expanded, for example through the introduction of care services.
With the Care Strengthening Act, almost all long-term care insurance benefits have been increased by four percent.
And inpatient care has been
strengthened
by around
20,000 additional caregivers
, from which nursing staff and
those in
need of care benefit.
With the nursing reform by
Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe
, nursing has been made
more realistic
.
For this purpose, five care levels were made out of three care levels, the term “need for care” was redefined, and people with dementia were given better consideration.
Again and again, many topics had to be
improved
, but
some remained patchy
.
Today more than 4.1 million people in Germany are in need of care due to the expanded new definition of care.
The big challenges of the future: The
sustainable securing of care financing
,
training and recruitment
- also from abroad,
payment in care
.
And not to forget a modern new regulation of the
personnel key in the nursing homes
.
All together,
real mammoth tasks
. "
You can read more expert opinions on the tasks of the Federal Republic after the Angela Merkel era on the problem areas of pensions and climate protection.
(
fn
) *
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/
The emphasis in the statements was made editorially
.
