Assessment of Care Needs; Data Transmission

The counties and independent cities are required to determine the long-term need for long-term care facilities in their respective areas, in consultation with the municipalities, the local and regional working groups of the long-term care insurance funds, the supralocal social assistance agencies, and the operators of the long-term care facilities.

The municipal needs assessment focuses in particular

• in the case of outpatient facilities, to care provided by home care services; the districts are responsible for home care services for people with mental illnesses as well as for supraregional home care services for people with disabilities;
• for semi-residential facilities and short-term care facilities, to needs-based care; the districts are responsible for corresponding facilities for people with disabilities or mental illness;
• for full-time residential facilities, on needs-based care; in this regard, the obligation to ensure such care generally lies with the districts, but for corresponding facilities providing care for the elderly, it lies with the counties and independent cities.

The competent authorities are obligated to ensure that needs-based outpatient, full-time residential, and semi-residential facilities, as well as short-term care facilities, are available in a timely and sufficient manner in accordance with the above differentiation. 

The needs assessment is an integral part of the comprehensive, regional policy framework for senior citizens, which—in accordance with the principle of “outpatient care before inpatient care”—encompasses the living environments of older adults along with the necessary care structures. In this process, the current stock of outpatient and inpatient care services is assessed, and future needs are determined.

To assist them in their care needs planning pursuant to Art. 69(1) AGSG, Bavarian municipalities have access to guidelines for needs planning in long-term care. The guidelines are intended for social planners and provide recommendations for assessing needs within the framework of a uniform, Bavaria-wide basic model.

The baseline model is intended to provide municipalities with a starting point for assessing long-term care needs. It defines a standardized minimum data set for needs assessment. In addition to the basic model, the evaluation of the results—taking into account region-specific circumstances—represents a further recommendation for local social planners.

A reliable data foundation is necessary to design an appropriate long-term care infrastructure in the municipalities. The Bavarian State Ministry of Health, Long-Term Care, and Prevention commissioned the IGES Institute to prepare a long-term care report that maps the current care situation in the home-based, fully inpatient, and semi-inpatient sectors in Bavaria and includes projections on future developments through 2050. The contents of the report are available in digital form on the “Pflegebedarf 2050” data portal. Starting in 2027, the Bavarian State Office for Statistics will take over the forecasting and the preparation of the report.

The guideline is intended for social planners in local governments.

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