Lack of care in the Heinsberg district: 77 places are urgently missing!

Lack of care in the Heinsberg district: 77 places are urgently missing!

In the Heinsberg district, the alarm level is red in care! Margaretha Funke, the care planner of the district, presented the terrifying numbers in the health committee: there is no less than 77 places in fully inpatient care! With a supply rate of only 16.5 places per 100 seniors from the age of 80, the Situation is more than tense. A new nursing home in Wegberg could create 82 places, but the city is ahead with a deficiency of 179 seats - and this is anything but a reason for joy!

The location in short-term care is particularly dramatic: Here there is a gap of 92 places! The pressure increases, because the need is often suddenly arisen, for example in the case of serious illnesses. The new short -term care Haus Valentina in Ratheim has brought a little relief with 20 places, but that is far from enough. The day care, on the other hand, is booming, with 533 available places - a ray of hope in the dreary care landscape. Facilities such as the Johanniter in the "Black Adler" in Erkelenz have expanded their capacities, but demand remains high, and the users are there on average 1.5 days a week.

alarming skilled worker deficiency

The situation is still tightened by the alarming shortage of skilled workers: 28 percent of the staff in fully inpatient nursing homes are already over 55 years old! It is 26.6 percent across all care facilities, while only 4.3 percent of employees are in training. The district administration has an increase in outpatient care services with 52 active services, but that's not enough to avert the impending crisis. Funke warns: the care planning remains a big challenge, because the creation of new capacities takes a lot of time and there is a lack of interest in new offers on the market.