Focus on people - the social service providers
So much is happening, from care via new forms of living for senior citizens through to youth welfare. The region is currently readjusting the points in many directions, with dynamic developments also in areas such as migration and inclusion.
Three current projects
Three examples illustrate the huge investment currently being made in the Region Hannover to set a new course particularly when it comes to social care and provision. DIAKOVERE’s new maternity clinic “Henrike Mutter-Kind-Zentrum Auf der Bult” has just celebrated its topping-out ceremony. It will have capacity for 70 patients and their babies, all in a familiar atmosphere. The few metres to the children’s hospital can be a life-saver in an emergency. Holistic care, rooming-in and state-of-the-art ne onatal medicine say it all. This unique project in Lower Saxony – aiming for up to 4,500 babies to be born here each year – will be one of Germany’s most advanced maternity clinics, according to Daniela Behrens, Lower Saxon Minister for Social Affairs, Health and Equal Opportunities. The state and federal government are contributing around 80 percent of the costs, which amount to approx. 70 million Euro. Patron Princess Ekaterina of Hannover gave birth to all her three children in the Auf der Bult maternity clinic, as she proudly reported already during the cornerstone ceremony.
Second example: The Vinzenzkrankenhaus hospital in Hannover-Kirchrode is being extended and modernised for in-patient care in the south and southwest of the city. Here again, 70 million Euro are being invested. The new hospital will offer a forward-looking, adequate setting for diagnostics and therapy, together with patient rooms, as emphasised by medical director Dr Jens Albrecht. “This applies to the central emergency department, laboratory, cardiac catheter laboratory, urology and gynaecology as well as the labour ward”, adds Albrecht. Patient rooms in the six-floor extension building comply with the two-bed standard. There will also be significant improvements in working conditions for the hospital staff, who now have an easily remembered slogan: “Never leave without a kind word for the patient.” The non-profit Vinzenzkrankenhaus belongs to the Elisabeth Vinzenz Verbund, a community of Catholic hospitals and other institutions in the healthcare and social sector. By the way, the Region Hannover is the responsible body behind the Klinikum Region Hannover hospital group, which includes seven general hospitals, Langenhagen geriatric hospital and the Wunstorf and Langenhagen psychiatric hospitals. 8,500 employees care for around 135,000 in-patients every year, together with an additional 160,000 out-patients.
Third example: A new residential district “An der Seelhorst” is being constructed in Hannover-Mittelfeld for around 1,000 people, offering almost total disabled accessibility. It offers cross-generational living on premises covering 4.5 hectares, including special housing projects for the disabled and for senior citizens. The apartments can be rented or purchased. A social network was devised specially for the Vitalquartier an der Seelhorst, consisting of a platform that people can use for arranging to meet, and for digital sharing. Depending on requirements, the quarter management can also organise assistance and care as well as other services. It goes without saying that events and leisure activities are also included. The Vitalquartier an der Seelhorst is directly adjoined to the facilities of DIAKOVERE Annastift “Living and Learning”.
The new quarter with all it offers shows the way forward in future when it comes to assisted living, co-existence for the elderly and cultural events. It constitutes a new approach alongside the many retirement and care homes in the Region Hannover. These are still needed, and in large numbers. Examples include the GDA Wohnstift Hannover-Kleefeld or the Rosemarie-Nieschlag-Haus in Lehrte and the Birkenhof in Hannover-Kirchrode. The question “Where do I want to live” is increasingly accompanied by the additional question: “How do I want to live?” The Region Hannover offers a constantly growing number of possible answers.
Services for people
The website of the Diakonie Hannover-Land provides information about a wide range of services, from the multi-generation house via the meeting point for mental health in Laatzen or the for-free shop for baby equipment, Burgdorf youth workshop or the migration service. Sometimes people who are still capable of living at home simply need a skilled craftsman or a “helping hand”. All this can be organised by the Diakonie. Refugees need a lot of advice and help. Here there is currently great demand with regard to rights of residence, social welfare issues or returning and onward migration intentions. Networked help or coordinating volunteers are items on the agenda in this respect.
The Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) in the Region Hannover operates along similar lines, with activities extending from Burgdorf women’s refuge via travel programmes for senior citizens through to child daycare facilities and youth centres. The AWO also offers migration advice and language courses, self-help groups for family members of dementia patients and also laptop and computer courses for senior citizens. The latter are almost always fully booked. The German Red Cross (DRK) in the Region Hannover is another pillar in the provision of services in the social sector. Many people only know the DRK for providing first aid and emergency services. But the full range offered by the DRK also includes social assistance for refugees, help for the homeless, general social counselling, the second-hand shop in Roderbruch or the food bank in Mittelfeld. Since the war in Ukraine began, there has also been a greater focus on the tracing service and family reunification. The DRK also offers a wide range of care and support in the city and Region Hannover, ranging from short-term and respite care, daytime care and assisted living facilities through to palliative and hospice care. The Johanniter state association Lower Saxony/Bremen is also actively involved in providing care facilities and child daycare centres as well as youth centres and housing for young and old. The focus is on people and their needs, from the Wohncafé at Klagesmarkt to assisted living in Gilde Carré.
Information
The Fourth Care Report 2021 gives the following forecast: the working population (18-64 years) in the Region Hannover will grow by only one percent by 2029 compared to 2019, from 720,165 to 727,602 people.
But in the same ten-year period, the number of people in need of care will probably increase by 21 percent from 59,215 to 74,402 people.
In 2019, the total care staff in the region amounted to exactly 20,305 employees. 25 training ambassadors attend days of action and school projects to inform young people about working in the care sector.
Advice from the region when it comes to organising care
The senior citizen and care support centres of the Region Hannover provide help and assistance. Besides the state capital, these are located in Unteres Leinetal, Nord, Burgdorfer Land and Calenberger Land. The help required can extend from applying for a care level to replacing the bathtub with a floor-level shower and a folding seat. Some of the distress this causes can already be alleviated by an opportunity to talk about the problem with the experts. The Social Department of the Region Hannover has a workforce of more than 300 employees in eight teams who deal with education and participation benefits, assistance and support as well as basic security benefits for job seekers.
Home care services, to be found almost everywhere, are the trusted service providers for needy senior citizens. There are around 200 such care providers in Hannover and the surrounding area. They look after more than 15,000 people, mostly every day. On a nationwide scale, more than 15,000 home care services provide support and assistance for senior citizens and needy people. About 80 percent of those classified with high care dependency are looked after in their own homes. Benefits from the care insurance depend on the amount and scope stipulated once the person in need has been classified in the respective care level. Gardening and looking after pets is not covered. Within just two years, the costs incurred by local and regional care institutions in the Region Hannover increased rapidly from 67.4 million Euro p.a. in 2017 to 76.9 million Euro (2019), as indicated in the Fourth Care Report 2021 of the Region Hannover. The number of people in need of care is growing constantly. On the other hand, there are not enough carers, with only a third of all employees in home care working full-time. 20 percent are in marginal employment and 46 percent work part-time. There are 17 nursing schools in the Region Hannover, including 14 in the city.
Inclusion above all
The churches in the Region Hannover also play an active role in providing social support. They take care of all age groups in a wide variety of ways. Many facilities are actively involved in youth welfare, such as the Birkenhof in Hannover. Bethel in the north is a widely recognised youth welfare facility. There is one word that covers all spheres, all activities and social diversity: inclusion. No matter where people come from, which language they speak or whether they have a physical or mental disability, everybody should be able to take part in all aspects of learning, living, working and leisure. Being different together is the reason why the city of Hannover has set up the inclusivity advice service, in order to implement the necessary organisation and to ensure that the necessary prerequisites are learnt for dealing with all the many, different people.
The offerings include seminars, informative parents’ evenings, case-related advice for implementation in the school setting or concept proposals for institutions. The youth and family department is similarly active, together with the corresponding facilities in the surrounding communities.
With a workforce exceeding 75,000 employees and more than 300 companies, the healthcare sector alone is a significant economic factor in the region, as indicated by 20 hospitals and the growing number of home care services. Altogether, the social service providers account for around 15 percent of all employees in the Region Hannover. The founding of the DHCH (Digital Health City Hannover) network underlines the potential offered by the digital sector also in preventive healthcare. This is where patient-oriented cutting-edge research meets economic practice. The huge growth in the provision of services for the social sector is both impressive and challenging at the same time, together with the many social facilities provided by the local authorities on the social sector. Lots of new jobs are being (and will have to be) created and a completely new approach will be needed to deal with the skills shortage.
Header picture: Tatiana Morozova/stockAdobe.com
