Rising concerns about inadequate care suspects swift action - Bavaria's Medical Services Respond Promptly
The Bavarian Medical Service (MDB) has published its annual report on complaint management, detailing an increase in complaints about nursing facilities in 2024. The report, titled "Activity Report_B_Pflege_2024.pdf," is available online.
In the past year, the MDB received 449 complaints, marking a 10% rise from the previous year. The majority of complaints were about 342 ambulatory, partial, and full-care nursing facilities.
The most frequent reasons for complaints were employee and management behaviour, care, and the personnel and their qualifications used. Specific complaints in the care area included the failure to provide nursing and household care and the unreliable administration of prescribed medication.
When a complaint is filed, the MDB conducts on-site assessments and evaluates the quality of care against established standards. Over 56% of the complaints were fully or partially confirmed after an on-site inspection related to the cause. In a further 91 cases, the review was recommended within ten working days. In 22 cases, the MDB recommended an ad-hoc review by the Association of Health Insurance Funds in Bavaria within two working days.
The Bavarian Medical Service contributes to the advancement of qualitative healthcare with its high level of expertise and objective, well-founded assessments. They take concerns seriously and act swiftly, sensitively, and solution-oriented, as stated by Prof. Dr. Claudia Woehler, CEO of the Bavarian Medical Service.
The MDB operates 24 consultation and assessment centers and is a reliable point of contact and expert in health matters, available not only in emergencies but also for preventive advice. They perform crucial tasks in assessing care dependency and quality assurance. The Medical Service of Bavaria offers support through events such as "MD in Dialogue," providing information on how to avoid care dependency, when to apply for care, and what information is needed.
The MDB inspects on behalf of statutory health and long-term care insurers. While the specific report from Bavarian Medical Service on complaint handling is not detailed in the provided search results, broader data on complaints in care contexts show a high incidence of care-related grievances linked to inadequate nursing care and medication safety challenges in elderly populations, especially in long-term care settings.
More information about the Medical Service of Bavaria can be found at www.md-bayern.de. The Medical Service of Bavaria can be contacted anonymously or with a name through various channels: phone, email, contact form, callback service, or post. The contact details for the Bavarian Medical Service's complaint and expert inquiry management team are: 089/159 060 2000, [email protected], contact form, callback service, and Haidenauplatz 1, 81667 Munich.
[1] Global issues in geriatric and long-term care (Source: Journal of Gerontological Nursing) [2] Care-related complaints in nursing facilities (Source: German Centre for Healthcare Quality) [3] Medication safety challenges in elderly populations (Source: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) [4] Long-term care quality standards in Germany (Source: German Federal Ministry of Health)
- The Bavarian Medical Service, in its annual report, revealed an increase in complaints regarding nursing facilities, particularly those related to care, employee and management behavior, and medical-conditions, highlighting the need for improvement in health-and-wellness services, especially for the elderly population.
- Acknowledging the concerns, the Bavarian Medical Service operates various channels for contact and provides preventive advice, including information on how to avoid care dependency, when to apply for care, and what information is needed, aiming to ensure quality of care in long-term settings as outlined in the German Federal Ministry of Health's long-term care quality standards.
