Nursing homes: Seniors often cut off from the internet

Access to the Internet is like a game of chance for people in retirement homes in Germany – and depends on where they live. In southern Germany in particular, there are no legal requirements for internet connections in old people’s and nursing homes. This emerges from a current study by the comparison portal Verivox, which is available exclusively to WELT AM SONNTAG.

Accordingly, there are no regulations for Internet offerings in four federal states. It includes two of the most populous federal states, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, as well as Thuringia and Saarland. In its digital strategy, the traffic light government had expressed its intention to work for greater digital participation among older people. It wants to be measured by whether “an increasing number of older people and nursing staff are experiencing noticeable support and relief through the confident and natural use of digital offerings” and whether “the digital participation of older people or people with disabilities is effectively strengthened could be”.

But it has not created any nationwide regulations. That is why the existing regulations are still limited to residential care laws that only exist at the state level.

The differences are big here. The rules are not always binding. In Hesse there only has to be internet coverage “if this is possible”. While Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania introduced regulations in 2010, they have only been in place in Saxony since this year.

“The federal patchwork turns digital participation for older people and people in need of care into a lottery game,” says Jörg Schamberg, telecommunications expert at Verivox. In addition, the availability of an internet connection not only depends on the federal state and location, but also on the home operator.

There doesn’t seem to be much transparency here. Verivox asked the ten largest operators of old people’s and nursing homes whether they provide WiFi to their residents. Six of the operators did not respond to repeated inquiries. Two others declined to comment on the matter.

Only Korian, the second largest operator in terms of number of beds, and the Evangelische Heimstiftung answered the inquiries. At Korian, wireless internet is generally available in all care facilities or is currently being set up. At the Evangelical Home Foundation, around two thirds of the nursing homes are said to be equipped with WiFi.

Home operators have to invest

According to Verivox, many home operators only offer Internet access as an additional service, as can be seen from their websites. Facilities such as Johanniter, Azurit-Hansa-Group and Alloheim often limit this to so-called “comfort rooms” or sometimes provide internet access for an additional charge.

Three years ago, Verivox had already researched WiFi coverage in old people’s and nursing homes. “Shockingly little has happened since 2021,” says Schamberg. “Without a nationwide obligation to provide internet access to old people’s and nursing homes, the social participation of older people will remain radically curtailed.”

The pandemic has shown how important digital communication can be, especially for less mobile people. “It is a disgrace for everyone involved that no binding guidelines resulted from these experiences,” says the Verivox expert.

However, building a digital infrastructure can be costly for home operators. In 2021, the Evangelical Home Foundation put the costs for a small facility at around 90,000 euros, according to Verivox, and for large houses with 130 places even at 270,000 euros – and a construction time of three months. In fact, digital infrastructure in retirement homes is not only a prerequisite for contact with relatives, but also for modern care concepts such as telemedicine and assistance systems.

Thomas Heuzeroth is a business editor in Berlin. He reports on Consumer- and technology topics, Consumer electronics and telecommunications.