Long-term residential care

Find a place in a care home

Care at home is no longer enough, even with support, and a move into a care home is coming up? Describe once where and from when a place is needed. Pflege Patienten informs the registered care facilities in the service area that offer long-term residential care.

Start a care request

When a care home place is an option

The decision is often made after a fall or a hospital stay, sometimes gradually: care is needed around the clock, family carers can no longer provide it, or the home is no longer safe.

Whether a move is the right step is decided by the person in need of care or their authorised representative. Care advice, for example at a care support centre or the long-term care insurance fund (Pflegekasse), helps you weigh it up.

The details a care home needs

Preferred region

Postcode and town near which the place should be – close to the current home or close to the relatives who visit.

Start

Immediately, from a certain date or still open, for example because the discharge date is not yet fixed.

Care level

Existing, applied for or not yet known – you state what you know.

Help in everyday life

What the person can still do and what they need help with. Add wishes that matter to you in your own words.

How the search for a care home place works

1. Post the request

In the portal you choose the type of care ‘Permanently in a care home’ and describe the care need.

2. Care homes are notified

The email to the care facilities only contains the case number, type of care, service categories, postcode and town, start and a link to the portal.

3. Compare responses

You see interest, questions or refusals on your request. You arrange a visit directly with the home.

4. Agree the place

You select a care home; the place is agreed once both sides have confirmed. You conclude the residential care contract with the facility.

What to expect when looking for a place

Whether and when a place becomes free is decided by the care home alone. A response expressing interest is the start of a conversation, not yet a commitment.

If the person is only to be cared for a few weeks, for example until everything is ready at home, short-term care is the better fit. It can also be requested through Pflege Patienten.

Would another type of care fit better?

Perhaps a move is not yet necessary: a home care service or day care can relieve everyday life enough for the person to stay in their own home.

Questions about a care home place

Choose the type that comes closest to the situation and describe the care need in your own words. A request covers exactly one type of care; care providers only receive a request if their offer fits this type. You can change the type of care when editing – services that do not fit the new type are dropped. A care advice service, for example at a care support centre or your long-term care insurance fund, can help you choose.

Registered home care services and care providers whose service area covers the place you entered and whose offer fits the request. They see the details needed for matching – such as the type of care, place and approximate distance, start, services required and care level – but no name, no address and no date of birth. A care provider only sees your telephone number and email address once you have selected it.

Pflege Patienten is organised regionally. If no matching home care services or care providers are registered for the place you entered yet, nobody is notified of your request and you will not receive any responses. In that case, contact care providers near you directly at the same time, or a local care advice service, for example a care support centre or your long-term care insurance fund. The page 'Regional participation' shows the current status. Whether participating providers can be reached at your place is shown by the care request assistant, before you create an account.

Posting is free of charge – registering and posting a request cost private individuals nothing at Pflege Patienten. This only concerns the platform: what the care itself costs and which services your long-term care insurance fund (Pflegekasse) or health insurance fund covers is something you clarify with the care provider and with your fund.

Post a request for a care home place

Posting is free of charge. The care request assistant first asks for the place and shows whether participating care providers can be reached there; you describe the care need after signing in.