Care crisis in the district: 8,000 people in need expected by 2040!

Care crisis in the district: 8,000 people in need expected by 2040!

Care in Hesse faces enormous challenges, and the Darmstadt-Dieburg district is no exception. How fr.de reports, the number of people in need of care in the region will rise from currently around 5,000 in 2023 to over 8,000 by 2040. The increase in the older population is of particular concern: an increase of 40 percent is forecast by 2035 and even 62 percent by 2040 of those over 60 years of age in need of care. But what does the current situation look like?

The district is currently better positioned than the national average in terms of the number of older people and people in need of care. Only 10.4 percent of the population is over 74 years old, while in Hesse this figure is 11.1 percent. The proportion of those in need of care at 25.6 percent also remains below the Hessian 32.6 percent. Nevertheless, a noticeable decline in inpatient care places can be observed; from 2,357 in 2013, the number has fallen to 2,252 in 2023.

The need for nursing services will increase

But the future looks different. The shortage of skilled workers in geriatric care is a nationwide problem that is also becoming apparent in the region. Loud Deutschlandfunk In recent years there has been an annual increase in the number of people requiring care of an average of 326,000. Last year there were 361,000 people in need of care, with a forecast of up to 6.5 million people in need of care by 2050. The pressure on care facilities will increase in the coming years, which will place increased demands on staff.

A striking trend shows that the number of nursing staff required in Germany will have to increase by more than 191,000 by 2040. Despite numerous efforts, such as the “major nursing reform”, filling the 115,000 unfilled positions remains a major challenge. Initiatives to recruit skilled personnel from abroad and more flexible working time models are on the agenda to counteract this emergency.

Innovative solutions and initiatives

In the Darmstadt-Dieburg district there are already various approaches to counteract this development. A new offer with 24 places for short-term care in the Groß-Bieberau senior center is expected by the end of 2025. In addition, the start-up “P & M Orgaminds GmbH” was founded, which acts as a call center for care facilities and takes care of the management of space requests and waiting lists. Another project, “SoWirt’s”, enables refugees to acquire school qualifications in order to be qualified for nursing professions.

Although the nursing shortage presents an extremely complicated challenge, there are also bright spots. The online petition to perpetuate community care has already collected over 1,500 signatures and will continue until the end of March - the goal is 15,000 supporters.

Meeting future challenges requires careful planning and the creation of a stronger support network. This includes not only improving training conditions and pay, but also innovative technological approaches to support nursing staff. How destatis.de emphasizes, a comprehensive database is necessary in order to better identify developments in care and plan the care structure accordingly.

The next few years will determine how well the district can deal with the increase in people in need of care and whether it will be possible to maintain the quality of care at a high level. At a time when the need for care is increasing, it is time to be proactive and creative.