Over half of Germany’s psychiatric facilities are understaffed, threatening patient care. This shortage affects both adult and youth mental health services nationwide.
A recent report reveals a critical staffing shortage in German psychiatric care. According to data from the Institute for Quality Assurance and Transparency in Healthcare (IQTIG), more than half of psychiatric facilities in Germany failed to meet minimum staffing requirements for therapeutic professionals in the last quarter of 2023.
The report, cited by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), shows that 387 out of 755 adult psychiatric facilities, or 51%, did not meet the staffing standards implemented in 2020. The situation is even more dire in child and adolescent psychiatry, where 165 out of 296 facilities, or 56%, fell short of the required staffing levels.
Doris Pfeiffer, chairwoman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV), expressed serious concern about these findings. She told RND, “Treatment with insufficient staff endangers patient safety and delays the recovery of severely mentally ill individuals.”
Pfeiffer pointed out that one reason for the staffing problems is Germany’s underutilization of outpatient treatment options at hospitals. The GKV believes that too many mentally ill patients in Germany are being treated as inpatients in clinics, which is particularly staff-intensive.
As a potential solution, Pfeiffer suggested increasing the use of outpatient treatment in day clinics. This approach could help alleviate the strain on full-time inpatient services and make more efficient use of available staff resources.
The report highlights a pressing need for reform in Germany’s psychiatric care system. With over half of facilities unable to meet minimum staffing requirements, there are significant implications for the quality of care and patient outcomes in mental health treatment across the country.
