24-hour care is in high demand. A new DIN standard is intended to ensure greater transparency and quality.
They come from Poland, Romania or Bulgaria to provide round-the-clock care for the elderly: around 300,000 senior citizens are currently being looked after by caregivers from abroad.
In addition to care provided by family members, outpatient care and nursing homes, 24-hour care is an important pillar of care in old age. Demand is growing steadily and there are many placement agencies on the market. At the same time, the supply is hardly regulated. And so, despite the great demand and intensive use, 24-hour care does not have a good reputation.
The DIN standard DIN SPEC 33454 entitled "Care of people in need of support by caregivers from abroad living in the household - requirements for intermediaries, service providers and caregivers" is intended to provide a remedy. It sets out quality criteria, such as the requirements for caregivers, their place of work and accommodation, the placement agencies and the mostly foreign companies that employ the caregivers. Things that seem self-evident are also included: For example, that a contract is concluded and expectations are clarified and recorded by mutual agreement. This specification should lead to greater transparency and thus offer better protection for caregivers and people in need of care.
DIN SPEC 33454 was developed by a consortium whose members include the Federal Interest Group for the Elderly and People in Need of Care, the DIN Consumer Council, Stiftung Warentest, Kuratorium Deutsche Altershilfe and three care agencies. It is important to note that the DIN standard is a voluntary commitment. However, the authors assume that this will make the market more transparent and increase pressure on agencies to sign up to the standard.
Placement agencies that work according to the new specification must meet certain requirements. Among other things, they must advise people in need of care and their relatives and employ trained carers to do so. The agency must also be available on site at all times via a 24-hour hotline. Its duties also include regular audits to check whether social security obligations are being complied with and the minimum wage is being paid, and whether the care workers are receiving the necessary training.
"The pme Familienservice welcomes the standards for 24-hour nursing staff. They will definitely contribute to greater transparency and better implementation in Germany. However, the fact that these standards are necessary is due to a shortcoming in legislation: here in Germany, unlike in countries such as Austria, Switzerland or Italy, there is hardly any regulation on how 24-hour nurses can be financed and deployed. The quality standards presented will not be able to solve this problem, as the need is so great that 24-hour crèches will continue to be provided that do not meet these quality standards. For us at pme Familienservice , there is no way around statutory regulation. It is to be hoped that the current DIN standard will raise awareness of this issue.
J�rgen Griesbeck, Homecare Eldercare Product Manager at pme Familienservice