“An answer to the nursing shortage”

Michael Zellweger, head of pflegehero, on how it works and its benefits.
Interview by Manuela Talenta in 2023, excerpt from Schweizer Familie

How does pflegehero’s service work?

Companies that hold an operating licence as a Spitex (home care) organisation employ people who care for their relatives in return for a salary. As head of pflegehero, I work with three companies: Spitex 24, private Care and reha at home in the cantons of Aargau, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft, Bern, Lucerne, Solothurn and Zurich. The family caregivers are supervised by professionals and must complete a nursing assistant course or equivalent training within one year.

What are the benefits of pflegehero?

People who care for their relatives themselves receive a salary for their work – currently CHF 36 per hour – and, above all, appreciation for a contribution that should not be taken for granted. They are also coached and supervised by qualified nurses. This raises the quality of care. Ultimately, the aim of the family caregiver concept is to reduce healthcare costs through fewer or later admissions to hospital or a care home and fewer visits to the doctor. And last but not least, urgently needed carers are being trained – an answer to the current nursing shortage.

Is pflegehero’s service widely used?

In Switzerland, around 300,000 people care for their relatives, and only a fraction of them are paid for it. Most family caregivers are therefore meeting a need that should actually be covered by a Spitex organisation.

Why is that?

The starting point is a 2019 ruling by the Federal Supreme Court: it states that, while family members cannot be compensated by health insurers for treatment care, they can be compensated for basic care. Many people are simply unaware of this. But a distinction must also be made between basic care and assistance. The scope of basic care is clearly defined in the Health Care Benefits Ordinance (KLV), and only basic care may be billed to health insurers. Assistance is not a benefit of compulsory health insurance and is therefore not eligible for compensation. Another reason is that family caregivers do not want to put themselves in the spotlight, because for generations it has been taken for granted that care within the family is provided free of charge.