Round table care

Round table on care and mobility

The latest edition of the Round Table Care - City and District of Hof recently focused on the issue of mobility. More specifically, the topic was: "Improving the mobility of elderly and non-mobile people through (citizen) transport services to prevent medical and care deficits in the Hof region. Needs, existing services and implementation options in the Hofer Land region."

Alexandra Puchta, coordinator of the Hofer Land care coordination center, welcomed the participants: "We want to network and collect ideas - and always keep an eye on people who cannot use a transport voucher from their health insurance company. After all, mobility is the basic prerequisite for accessing medical care. Without mobility, there is no medical care. It is also important to think of new, unusual solutions."

"I am looking forward to the exchange, because the city and district of Hof are pioneers in Bavaria when it comes to care: on the one hand, the commitment and cooperation of the municipalities, the city and district, is unique here. On the other hand, we also have a particularly high proportion of people in need of care in the population. That's why I'm always happy to be here to learn," says Christian Müller, who is responsible for care issues and the Good Care in Bavaria funding guideline at the Bavarian State Ministry of Health, Care and Prevention.

The network meeting, which was organized by Netzwerk Pflege Stadt und Landkreis Hof, brought together numerous representatives from senior citizens' and care facilities, providers, associations and local senior citizens' representatives as well as specialist speakers at the VHS Hofer Land. The event was opened by Mayor Eva Döhla and Deputy District Administrator Annika Popp, who emphasized the importance of the topic and invited closer cooperation.

"We are repeatedly confronted with the issue of mobility in our day-to-day work. Mobility becomes a major issue even before the need for care arises," said Mayor Eva Döhla. Chairwoman of the Zweckverband Leitstelle Pflege Hofer Land.

"There are already many different initiatives and offers in the city and district of Hof, whether from private providers, municipalities or volunteers. What we need is a lively exchange so that we can learn from each other," says Deputy District Administrator Annika Popp.

Some of the existing offers were presented as part of an inventory:

Jörg von der Grün , Managing Director of the BRK Kreisverband Hof reported on current challenges in the area of patient transportation. Facility manager Sabine Dippold presented the hospital foundation's own transport service, which was set up a year ago with the help of the Käte Feldmer Foundation and currently still has capacity for external facilities. Ute Hopperdietzel from the specialist unit for care and dementia presented the office of "volunteer individuals", who can also provide transportation for the people in their care. Sebastian Kant, Managing Director of Logistik Agentur Oberfranken, presented the "Hofer Landbus" pilot project of the district of Hof, which closes the gaps in the local transport network. Its vehicle pool has also been equipped for passengers with restricted mobility and also has a vehicle for transporting wheelchair users. Passengers with a disabled pass and a G token can use the Hofer Landbus free of charge.

This round of presentations of existing services in the region that are not yet widely known gave the audience their first aha moments.

Christopher Kaufmann from Sundhausen in the Unstrut-Hainich district of Thuringia came to present an example of best practice. The trained nurse studied health management and is the honorary mayor of his home community as well as project manager of the Landleben Foundation. With great commitment, ingenuity and creative solutions, the initiative has been breaking new ground in the rural areas of Blankenburg, Kirchheilingen, Sundhausen, Tottleben and other neighboring communities since 2010 and is developing its own health, care and supply network for the regional value chain in social services of general interest in view of the ageing population. The "Landengel" sub-project, which has been running since 2017, also focuses on mobility. Rides are organized and financed by an association. Some elements of the concept: converted bus stops also serve as so-called "health kiosks" with a corresponding range of information, necessary journeys from several patients to specialists are combined, and journeys that are not absolutely necessary are to be avoided in future through the use of telemedicine.

"It's about finding and organizing new ways together. By working together with network partners, we can shoulder lean periods in care together," Kaufmann reported from his experience. "It is important to build up a 'caring attitude', to rethink the healthcare system and to use network structures. We see ourselves as intermediaries, not as competitors to other providers."

Working groups immediately began an open exchange, discussing existing challenges together and looking for new solutions, moderated by Brigitte Herkert from AfA - Arbeitsgruppe für Sozialplanung und Altersforschung GmbH, Munich. During the presentation of the results, it became clear that the first step should be to address the lack of information about existing services among the population, providers and institutions and to promote networking. Other major challenges include the tight legal framework for passenger transportation and capacity bottlenecks among the people who carry out the trips.

Interdisciplinary networking and the development of solutions are now to continue in smaller groups. The care coordination center and the State Ministry want to support the flow of information and transfer work. "I am optimistic, because we have good thinkers and we are good implementers," were the closing words of Alexandra Puchta, who thanked all participants for their commitment and cooperation: "This gives us courage and hope that we can make a difference."