Nursing Council Chairwoman Vogler: We need team-based rather than doctor-centered primary care

Berlin. The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD mentions the introduction of a mandatory primary care physician system . However, nursing associations believe this approach falls short.

What is needed, however, is a transition from a “doctor-centered” to a “team-based primary care”, said Christine Vogler, President of the German Nursing Council (DPR), at the opening of the German Nursing Day on Wednesday in Berlin.

Vogler stated that nursing care is an essential component of "team-based primary care," forming the "first point of contact for patients" together with general practitioners, therapists and social workers .

Neighborhood visit by specialized caregivers

Such a service includes nursing consultations, transition and medication management, or neighborhood visits by specially trained nursing professionals such as Community Health Nurses (CHNs).

Access to healthcare should no longer be restricted to one profession, namely medicine, the council chairwoman emphasized. "Public trust in the political promise of safe, needs-based access for everyone has been shaken. We must therefore discuss the form of access to the healthcare system."

Support came from the CEO of the health insurance company BARMER, Professor Christoph Straub. "To breathe new life into the political promise of care independent of insurance status, income and place of residence, a 'primary care system' is needed to manage patient flows according to demand."

"Without supporting nursing and elevating it to a healthcare profession, this won't be possible," said Straub, who himself worked as a hospital doctor for many years.

BARMER CEO Straub: Upgrading as a healthcare profession

Furthermore, the head of the health insurance fund stated that, in the long term, cross-sectoral needs planning is required, in which the nursing profession is considered and included.

Medical professionals are likely to be alarmed by these demands. Dr. Markus Beier, co-chair of the German Association of General Practitioners, recently emphasized to the Ärzte Zeitung (Medical Newspaper): "Nurses must be given more autonomy. Otherwise, it will be difficult to ensure long-term care."

However, Beier emphasized that "it is crucial that – unlike so often in the past – new parallel structures are not created once again, but rather that nursing staff can contribute their additional skills within the existing structures." For outpatient care, this means that nursing staff must always be integrated into a practice team. (hom)