Hospital.Help

Erfurt – A proposal by the Thuringian SPD to improve the situation of caring relatives has been met with rejection in the state parliament outside the Social Democratic faction. The SPD proposal is “completely disconnected from reality,” said CDU social politician Christoph Zippel today in Erfurt during a plenary debate.

According to Zippel, it is not at all financially viable to employ people at a national company who, for example, look after their parents in need of care at home.

The SPD proposes employing up to 500 family caregivers as part of a model project at a state-run company and paying them 1,400 euros net per month for their care work in full-time care.

By employing them in a state-owned company, they will be protected financially and in terms of social security, explained SPD health politician Cornelia Klisch. “As part of the pilot project, which is to be carried out in the next legislative period, we will employ up to 500 family caregivers,” said Klisch.

The Left Party also criticized this. A model project such as the one proposed by the SPD would only help a very small proportion of the caring relatives, said Left Party MP Ralf Plötner. This is insufficient. The German care system needs to be fundamentally reformed. © dpa/aerzteblatt.de