The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) has presented the Eighth Care Report ‘on the development of long-term care insurance and the state of long-term care in the Federal Republic of Germany’. It covers the years 2020-23, the challenges, progress and initiatives.

The shortage of personnel and the increasing number of people in need of care continue to pose major challenges for the care sector. However, numerous laws and projects have been launched to strengthen care – including the Care Support and Relief Act (PUEG), the reform of care training and projects to improve working conditions (e.g. GAP).

However, further measures are needed to make the nursing profession more attractive, improve the quality of care and ensure the financial sustainability of the nursing care insurance system.

Among the key recommendations of the report are:

• Increased recruitment and training of nursing staff to meet growing demand, as well as better pay for specialist staff.
• Measures to improve working conditions in nursing care to make the nursing profession more attractive and increase employee retention.
• Further strengthen the skills of nursing professionals, including through special qualification, further education and training programmes.
• Promote technological innovations and digital solutions to support nursing care.
• To ensure that carers are better prepared for crises in the future, pandemic or heat plans, for example, should be implemented more consistently and the recommendations of the Advisory Council on Health and Care for resilience in the health care system should be implemented.
• Long-term care insurance should be made financially sustainable in order to ensure stable care in the long term. According to the BMG, this includes, among other things, premium adjustments and state subsidies.