Revolution in nursing: New law improves working conditions!

Revolution in nursing: New law improves working conditions!

In one step towards better working conditions in nursing, the nursing staff strengthening law (PPSG) was introduced on January 1, 2019. The aim is to improve the situation for nursing staff and to combat personnel lack in health and elderly care. As reports MDR, the law should not only spice up the working conditions, but also secure the quality of care in the hospitals. A central concern is the clear separation of nursing tasks and other activities in the hospital, which often claim the valuable time of nursing staff.

The PPSG is part of the so -called “immediate program of care” by the Federal Government, which aims to relieve nurses and gain additional staff. Over the past few years, 13,000 new jobs have been created in inpatient care facilities, which should be a pleasant improvement. Nursing relatives should also benefit by now having easier access to rehabilitation measures, even if they are not medically necessary.

concrete improvements by the PPSG

One of the essential changes to the PPSG is the introduction of new personnel borders in care facilities that should ensure that there are enough nurses available:

• up to 40 residents: 0.5 new foster homes
• 41 to 80 residents: 1 new foster home
• 81 to 120 residents: 1.5 new foster homes
• over 120 residents: 2 new foster homes

Another important measure is the billing of nursing staff costs via its own care budget, which has guaranteed the financing for nursing staff, regardless of the general hospital budget, since 2020. For example, nurses should no longer be used for foreign tasks such as administration. These regulations could actually help to actually enforce the promised improvement in the conditions.

criticism and challenges

Despite the positive approaches, reality looks more complex. Critics warn that the 13,000 new positions mentioned can only have an effect if enough people want to start the nursing profession. It was also concerned that the introduction of personnel borders could lead to some institutions to close their care places because the resources are not sufficient. In this context, there is also great concern that hospitals could remove nursing staff from inpatient facilities, which would also burden the situation in care.

The nursing portal.de emphasizes that digitization in nursing also plays a role. The PPSG promotes digital solutions with grants of up to 12,000 euros to improve the technical requirements in the facilities. The modernization of the way of working could help reduce the workload of the nursing staff and increase the quality of care.

summarized it is shown that the PPSG includes promising approaches to improve care, but at the same time there are clear challenges and criticisms that still need to be addressed. This is the only way to achieve its objectives and create the urgently needed improvements in the care industry.