Home

[Translated] I have long cared for my sister and my mother, and now my husband who has cancer and is bedridden! I wish someone [could support me] for a few hours or once a few days so that I could go away once with my daughter and granddaughter or make a trip!

The government should invest in training social workers, so that quality of care is as high as possible, and at the same time the social status of social workers, professional carers and nursing staff is raised, they are better paid, and young persons would like to choose such careers.

[Translated] I would urgently need support as far as my parents are concerned. They live alone, my father doesn’t speak at all anymore, can’t be reached by phone either, and my mother now and then. I think they both need urgent support, but I can’t talk to them anymore. My mother had a serious brain operation, I was never informed by any doctor, by any nurse, by any social worker…….what can be done, what is available, nothing at all….

[Translated] There are now already too few caregivers and nothing is done about it! How will that be in 10 years ?!

[Translated] In the next few years, Germany will need more good care facilities, if possible connected with other living facilities in which partners can also live. With high quality standards, but also with empathetic nursing and care staff and good living standards. With medical care, physiotherapy and a good activation program. Care should be affordable for all and not be passed on to family members who risk their health, private life and income for it. Nursing home care should not be stigmatized, as it relieves relatives of a great deal of work and ensures care free interaction with the persons to be cared for. Financial reasons should not be the reason why people do not go to a nursing home, because the psychological burden is too high.

[Translated] I would not want my future to be in the hands of politicians but in the hands of qualified experts.

[translated] Well, I hope that caregivers get a protected or priority status – I mean at work and as workers, everyone needs us, our attention, and to some extent it feels like we are omnipotent and can care for others, care for ourselves and sometimes, care for our parents. That is wrong.

[…] My elderly grandmother lived with my family for 25 years and she needed substantial care for the last 15 years of that. My mother was a full time carer for her and could not work. There was definitely family expectation that this would be the case. Eventually she was too frail to be at home and she lived in a nursing home for the the last 10 or so years of her life. Both of my parents mental and physical health improved substantially after that. They were still involved in visiting frequently, bringing food, doing laundry but they were also able to live their own lives. I feel very strongly that care should be provided for older people

[Translated] It is complicated to get help when the parent who needs it is living abroad (France) and it is impossible for him/her to live alone. Because no retirement home can be found for him/her, the only solution is to take him/her at home (in another country of the European Union)

[translated] In general, the state should take care of the financing of care services and introduce a system for quick access to emergency medical care.