Why Germany's health care system is in crisis (and how the government plans to fix it) | DW News

Virus wave, overload, staff shortage: Germany's hospitals aren't doing well. The country's health minister now wants to change that. But how did it come to this in the first place?

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[kiraflash]

As a German nurse I must say that one of the big reasons for nurses leaving the field is also the complete disrespect and entitlement, even aggression, from patients and their family members that happens on a daily basis in our hospitals and is being overlooked by our superiors. No one ever talks about this, you're just being told that as a nurse you have to serve patients no matter how much they abuse you physically and emotionally! This is outrageous and as long as there is zero respect from the general population for the work that nurses do, the nursing staff will keep shrinking and with them the number of available hospital beds!

[soho]

Having worked in German hospitals for more than 15 years, i can tell you that every government promised to improve conditions in our health sector. Yet everything gets worse year after year. A lack of healthcare professionals that earn a fraction of those in neighbouring countries while having the worst patient to employee ratio. This crisis is a consequence of decade-long cynical political mismanagement.

[mohammedabualsoud]

Been working as a pulmonologist in germany for 5 years now. The amount of workload, psychological stress and beurocracy we are under is HUGE. Me and lots of my collegues are already considering other alternatives. The stituation is getting really bad since the corona pandemic!!

[SunshineFromWithin]

To be fair, this is probably happening in many other countries such as France and England as well where you have low birth rates and an aging population. However I think that Germany is a country that is generally in crisis and the bad health care situation is a symptom of this.
Politics in Germany focusses on non essential things too much and therefore fails to correct issues that really matter. Problems are always addressed through introducing more regulations that have landlocked Germany into unmanagable bureaucracy.

Today as I was walking through Berlin I saw the political advertisements for the upcoming election and they are all meaningless slogans, "Vote Green and for justice", "fight hatred", etc, but no one even attempts to solve the magnitude of problems we are facing, such as energy crisis, lack of affordable housing, etc.

Politics in Germany has become very ambitious (save the climate) but also incapable of solving any problems. It'll get worse.

[sheinlyojales]

I am a nurse in Germany and also experiencing burn out at the moment. Too much responsibilities but most of the time under staff. Trying to give the best of what we can do for our patients but we almost lack of time to perform it. Really frustrating!!!

[alanjameson]

I worked in US hospitals for more than 40 years. I remember when DRG's were introduced--many hospital managers panicked and cut back training programs. Most hospitals made more money with DRG's than with the former fee-for-service system, but they didn't restore the medical personnel training programs they had cut, and in time they were faced with severe personnel shortages, which in turn moved people to retire sooner than they probably would have before.

[erborianrn]

I have been working as a nurse for 12 years now. What I have observed in the past several years, New Nurses have branched out to different fields to escape bedside nursing. Bedside nursing just burns you out physically, mentally and emotionally. It’s the most stressful field of nursing in my opinion. I myself experienced that. I used to look after 12 Patients (Total Patient Care - Acute Care here in Ireland). For the longest time, Nurses haven’t been paid enough. Underpaid and overworked. I am Single and still renting and share the apartment with someone I’m not close with. I tried applying for mortgage, I was told my salary (including Overtime) was not enough to get a house here in Dublin. I’d say if this trend continues where new nurses give up bedside nursing so easily, Just imagine what will happen when our senior nurses (which make up the huge part of our workforce) retire. No one will be there to take care of you or your families.

[eddymk]

If you live in one of the richest countries in the world, with the highest taxes in the world and still got to a point where you have catastrophic conditions in the areas of health care, education, digitization, pensions, then you know that money has lost its ability to drive innovation and also lost his ability as a preserver of prosperity

[bernardgarrett]

My Mother lives in Germany, she was taken into hospital just before Xmas. She received fantastic treatment. Thank you to all those who attended to her. Gilead 1 Bielefeld.

[nursemaggie]

Oh well! I'm a nurse trained and skilled from the US, have done German language courses upto B2 level, applied for the "Annerkenung" and after 1 year received a reply that the office required some documents from the US from me before they'll begin processing my documents. After an entire 12 months of applying! Let them have it, they really apparently aren't short-staffed yet.

[bsrhoad]

My wife was the team lead of a nursing staff in a German Hospital. She loved her job when she first started working, but over the years the conditions got more demanding, the nursing staff shrunk, and the salary stayed stagnant. COVID was the straw that broke the camel's back, and she resigned her position last year when she realized nothing was being done to fix the problems, no light at the end of the tunnel. Sad to see.

[evelynsaungikar]

“More procedures performed on an outpatient basis” is code for “moms and other female relatives have to take over nursing care, and it will not be paid”

[fatimakhanum]

I have recently came to Germany and was pregnant and during my 3rd trimester i got some kidney issues also, there was alot of complications in the end as my water broke early and the risk of getting infection was high, but the doctors and nurses really really took a great care of me and i will be always thankful to them, reading the comments of other nurses who have faced aggression i am really sorry on behalf of everyone because you guys are really angels on this earth working day and night taking care of people in pain and in need, lastly i will he really thankful to Germany's hospital RKH in Ludwigsburg who saved me and my babies life.

[TheYapster]

I'm a software engineer (work in research) in Germany (immigrant). My fiance is a Doctor and we've been fighting bureaucracy to get her in for over a year.
95% of Germany workforce shortage problems are originating from the foreigners offices. Anyone who has any other choice would go elsewhere instead of waiting for two years for a visa => emails and phones are never answered.
My sister works as a nurse in Germany, some of her colleagues are done with their Ausbildung but are waiting for the paperwork (while being unemployed despite dozens of job offers).

[galejohnson]

I so agree a new start is needed. I was a critical care nurse here in the USA for 40 years. For the first 2/3 of my career i was proud of what excellent care we provided. I worked in post surgical cardio-thoracic area. Now, they want everything regionalized (to save money) and everything has to be the same everywhere even if the patient population and patient problems differ. The system has been dumbed-down, and I am no longer proud of the care provided. Our voices used to matter, and we could effect changes and better patient outcomes. No longer! Now you are treated like another cog in the wheel. All professional respect is gone. The newer nurses buy into the new system because they know nothing else. It is the almighty dollar that reigns.

[peggydeweerdt]

Pay nurses the correct amount of salary and they will stay in the job. Salaries especially for nurses are way too low for such a demanding job.

[josecarlos]

Similar situation here in Canada. People constantly disrespect nurses and doctors these days, also their salaries aren't going up so why would anyone want to stay in these working conditions. Let's not forget how much school and training is required for them to make it, and politicians always cutting healthcare, its no wonder health care is in trouble.

[kyriakizafeiriadou]

I came in Germany 30 years ago, and since they privatized them, the Desaster begann.
Privatization they said it will be better they said. Absolutely the opposite is the case!!

[cjm]

It is happening all over the developed world. We have been warned since the 1980s that an aging society and a shrinking workforce (relative to the overall population) would lead to pressure on public services like health care and long-term care homes.

I find it remarkable that every developed country government knew this problem was looming and chose to do nothing about it.

[normalerweise]

Never complain about the absence of a doctor or nurse. Many doctors and nurses have applied for equivalency and temporary work permit. By checking these applications in min 6-12 months and requesting missing documents, you both harm the applicants psychologically, full of uncertainty, and you harm your own people with your health system, which is inoperable with this lack of personnel. When doctors and nurses work with a lack of personnel, the mistakes they make increase. I saw it with my own eyes in Germany.
The first reason for this problem is your extremely slow bureaucracy. Firstly, More staff should be recruited to the state governments to examine these foreign applications.
Ich habe die Nase voll…