For Franz Ferner, managing director of Volkshilfe, the care summit came at just the right time. The challenges are enormous.
What is the personnel situation at Volkshilfe – is the pandemic, as politicians like to put it, over?
We currently employ 2000 people in care and support. The situation is tense in different regions. The pandemic is of course not over for the nursing staff – the next few months in particular will be a challenge for our teams. Our hygiene concepts have been adapted, our storage facilities for protective equipment are full. We ensure that residents can continue to receive visits.
How do you get new employees?
We are proud that quite a few new employees are recruited from existing colleagues. Another thing that makes us attractive is that we offer work where people live. Our extensive training workshop for mobile and stationary care is an incentive for many. We strive to be a fair employer – and we pride ourselves on having a strong works council.
What does it take now after the nursing summit?
Nursing needs a shared, clear look ahead. The summit shed light on issues relating to the pandemic, which is important. However, it is more important to now clearly work out how the workload for nursing staff can be relieved quickly. Or also how bureaucracy can be reduced. That is only possible if the country and the experts do not talk about care, but with it!