Despite sounding announcements and promises from politicians and authorities, many old people’s homes and care services still see themselves at a disadvantage. Now there is an unworthy dispute over a bonus payment.
The corona crisis came over Germany like a storm. At first, it could only be seen on the horizon, then the dark clouds appeared over the neighbouring countries; the number of infected soared, thousands died in Italy and Spain from Covid-19. The federal government first made the hospitals storm-proof in March: they benefited from billions for a wide “protective shield” so that they could clear intensive care beds and prepare for the pandemic without financial worries.
For the old people’s homes and care services, however, who take care of those for whom the coronavirus can be a deadly danger, this screen was much smaller. Although they should also be supported in the event of additional costs due to the crisis and relieved of desk work, the protective measures for the risk patients in the nursing home were in many respects holey. For example, when using corona tests, the care representative of the SPD parliamentary group, Heike Baehrens, says today: “When test capacities were scarce at the beginning, the focus was on people from high-risk areas. It was overlooked that they were tested very quickly must work directly with other people. ” Even nurses with cold symptoms often had to wait a long time for a test, she complains. And just staying at home with a cough is difficult in an industry that is as dramatically understaffed as nursing. The virus was able to spread unnoticed in the homes of old and sick people.
A new law is now to enable “series tests” for nurses and residents
On Wednesday, a spokesman for Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) announced that he wanted to submit a law next week. It is designed to ensure that carers and those in need of care are tested more frequently for the coronavirus. The local health department can then arrange “series tests” for all residents and employees, especially if the virus has broken out in a home. In a draft submitted by the coalition on Tuesday, up to 1.5 billion euros had already been earmarked for the expansion of the test capacities. However, the law does not apply specifically to carers but aims to enable a gradual “return to normal economic life”, as the draft states. The health policy spokeswoman for the Greens, Maria Klein-Schmeink, says that more tests should be available “above all for people in contact-intensive professions”: “especially for everyone in care”.
In a letter to Spahn, an alliance of 23 nursing associations and organizations recently described the provision of protective clothing for homes as precarious: “The first waves of infection in inpatient facilities show the fatal consequences of infection chains if there is no comprehensive protection with the appropriate equipment,” it said in this. The equipment of nursing staff with protective masks and coats must be promoted “with the highest priority”. The Ministry of Health only referred to the federal states on request. They are responsible for distributing the masks procured by the federal government.
After a conversation with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), the federal states have imposed a mask requirement on most public transport and shops. SPD care politician Heike Baehrens is watching this development with concern. “In times of crisis, you have to set priorities,” she says. If the global market for medical protective masks is swept clean, the first thing to do is to protect those who care for infected or people in need of care. “Only when this has succeeded,” she says, can all citizens be recommended to wear masks: “You should have made it clear from the start that mouth-nose protection in everyday life should only be cloth masks.” Because while many citizens are now buying professional masks in pharmacies, there is still a shortage in nursing homes.
The union demands that the bonus for carers be paid out “promptly”
In order to support the employees there at least financially in the corona pandemic, the care commission of the federal government recommended a bonus of up to 1,500 euros for all employees. Verdi boss Frank Werneke said that politics must now “promptly” make the necessary arrangements for the implementation and refinancing of the premium, the costs should not affect the needy and their relatives. Because as controversial as the premium is political, funding is still being struggled for. It is unclear whether long-term care insurance pays for the premiums or whether it should be financed from tax funds, for example. Spahn promised on Wednesday that the open questions would be answered: “in the next week or two”.
For a long time now, Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) has come up with a plan to create a binding collective agreement for all care providers that guarantee better working conditions. Private care employers, in particular, are resisting this. On Wednesday, the government decided new minimum wages in elderly care: in the lowest wage group, a minimum wage of 11.35 euros applies in May from the west and increases to 12.55 euros by April 2022. Nurses will receive 15 euros from July 2021 and 15.40 euros from April 2022. In the east, minimum wages (except for skilled workers) are initially lower but then rise to the west level. The lower wages in nursing are regularly adjusted; new leave entitlements and minimum wages depending on qualifications are new. In view of the crisis, this is probably only a small consolation for many.
