Find short-term care for a limited period
Sometimes care at home is temporarily not possible. Post a request for time-limited inpatient care – matching participating facilities can then get in touch.
A response or a free place cannot be guaranteed.
Which situation would you like to prepare for?
You clarify with the responsible professionals and funding bodies which care is suitable in the individual case and which requirements apply.
When discharge is approaching
If no suitable support at home has been organised yet for the time after discharge, the transition has to be agreed with those involved. A request can support part of the search.
When the usual help is not available
If the usual support is temporarily not available – for example because the carer needs a holiday or falls ill –, a time-limited inpatient solution can be a topic for advice.
As a transition
If a permanent care home place is in sight but not yet free, short-term care can bridge the time until then.
These details make the search easier
You do not need to have answered every question before you start. What matters is to tell known conditions and open points clearly apart.
Clarify this early, for example with the hospital's social services.
The ticks only apply in this browser window. Nothing is saved or sent.
Find short-term care: from request to agreement
In the portal you choose short-term care, enter the period and describe the help needed in everyday life. Matching participating facilities can express interest or ask questions. You clarify directly whether the period, the care needed and an actual admission fit together.
The request does not replace an admission agreement. A response does not yet mean that a place is firmly reserved: it is only agreed once you choose and both sides confirm.
Putting costs in context
Using Pflege Patienten for your request is free of charge. What the stay costs and whether benefits from a funding body come into question is clarified separately. This page contains no individual commitment on benefits or funding.
More help with preparation
Our detailed checklist brings together questions that can help when looking for a short-term care place.
If care is needed permanently, a care home place fits. If the person is to stay at home, a home care service or day and night care helps. Special forms: out-of-hospital intensive care and assisted living.
Questions about short-term care
What happens if no care provider in my region takes part yet?
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.
Can I change or end my request?
Yes. In the portal you edit your request, drop services that are no longer needed or end the request, for example once you have arranged the care elsewhere. If no takeover has been agreed for any service after 14 days, the request is closed as 'not placed'; on day 11 you receive an advance warning.
Can I use Pflege Patienten in an emergency?
No. Pflege Patienten is not an emergency or acute care service. In an emergency, call 112; outside surgery hours you can reach the medical on-call service on 116 117.
What does a request cost private individuals?
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.
Request short-term care
Free of charge for private individuals. You enter the period in the protected portal.