There are aids or tailored solutions available for many of the difficulties encountered in day-to-day care – even if family members do not yet know what they are called. This guide helps you to describe your needs, discover suitable options and organise the provision of care, from selection right through to safe use.
01
Why the right assistive device makes a difference
Assistive devices can make everyday life at home safer, more independent and less stressful. They provide support with walking, getting up, washing, dressing, eating, drinking, positioning, taking measurements or finding one’s bearings. Some compensate for a physical limitation, whilst others make care easier or help to reduce risks such as falls and pressure sores.
Many carers are initially unaware of what solutions are actually available. This is no obstacle: you do not need to know a specific product name to seek advice. It is enough to describe the specific difficulty, for example: “It’s almost impossible to get up from the armchair any more”, “The journey to the toilet is unsafe at night” or ‘I have to hold the person steady all the time whilst they’re having a shower.’ For a great many such everyday situations, there are suitable aids, adaptations or other forms of specialist support.
The aim is not to buy as many products as possible. What matters is which specific problem needs to be solved. A rollator can provide safety if it is correctly adjusted, suits the person and there is sufficient space in the home. A shower stool can make personal hygiene easier if it is stable and can be used safely. A care bed can improve care provision, but it must be suited to the care situation, the room and the person’s abilities.
An unsuitable, incorrectly adjusted or poorly managed aid, on the other hand, can create new uncertainties. It can block pathways, lead to incorrect strain, cause pressure sores or convey a sense of safety that does not exist in actual use. Selection, adjustment and training therefore go hand in hand.
Assistive devices can also relieve the burden on carers. Transfer aids, a height-adjustable care bed or suitable handrails can reduce awkward lifting and supporting movements. However, this relief is only achieved once all those involved have understood and practised how to use the equipment.
Needs can change. Following a hospital stay, a fall, an operation or in the event of increasing frailty, a new solution may be required. Similarly, an aid that has been used previously may no longer be suitable. The provision of assistive devices is therefore not a one-off purchase, but part of the ongoing organisation of care.
A good assistive device is suited to the individual, the specific activity and the environment. It is explained, trialled and regularly reassessed.
02
Identifying and assessing needs
The starting point is not a product list, but an everyday situation. Relatives do not need to know in advance whether a transfer board, a bath board or another solution might be suitable. What is more important is: Where is it no longer possible to carry out a task safely, or only with great effort? What has the person in need of care started to avoid? During which activities do relatives frequently have to hold them, lift them or improvise? And where have there already been near-falls, pain or other problems?
Is it difficult to get up from bed, an armchair or the toilet?
Is walking around the home or outside the home unsafe?
Can they still shower, wash or use the toilet safely?
Can the person eat, drink and manage their medication independently?
Are there any problems with positioning, skin protection, incontinence or wound care?
Do they have difficulty orientating themselves or calling for help in an emergency?
Which tasks place a particular physical strain on carers?
It is helpful to first categorise needs according to everyday situations. Only then should you assess which specific product is suitable:
Moving around, getting up and repositioning
For example, a walking stick, rollator, wheelchair, standing aid, transfer board or hoist. Safe operation, correct adjustment and sufficient space are crucial.
Sleeping, positioning and pressure relief
For example, a care bed, bed-raising device, positioning cushions or pressure-relief systems. Here, skin condition, mobility and care requirements should be professionally assessed.
Bathroom, toilet and personal hygiene
For example, shower stools, bath boards, grab rails, bath lifts or toilet seat raisers. The solution must be stable and suit the movement patterns within the available space.
Eating, drinking and dressing
For example, adapted cups, non-slip mats, handle thickeners, sock-putting-on aids or long shoehorns. Small aids can help maintain independence during routine activities.
Orientation, communication and emergency calls
For example, easy-to-read clocks, memory aids, adapted telephones or a home emergency call system. Where monitoring or tracking solutions are used, consent and proportionality must be taken into account.
Medication, monitoring and treatment
For example, medication dispensers, blood pressure or blood glucose monitors, inhalers or other administration aids. Training and professionally defined responses to abnormal readings are essential for safe use.
Care, hygiene and consumables
For example, incontinence products, mattress protectors, gloves, skin care products or dressing materials. In addition to selection, consumption, reordering and safe storage must be organised.
These areas serve as a guide and do not cover all available solutions. The specific choice should be based not only on the range of products available, but on the objective: which activity should be made safer, more independent or less physically demanding for the carer? With this description, doctors’ surgeries, nursing staff, therapy services, care advice services or medical supply shops can search specifically for suitable options.
They do not need to know the right aid already. Describe the everyday problem – for many situations, there is a solution that can be specifically sought out.
03
Selecting the right aid and trying it out
An aid is only suitable if it works in the actual everyday situation and is accepted by the person requiring care. Size, weight, strength, mobility, eyesight, orientation and the ability to operate the aid are just as important as door widths, floor coverings, thresholds and space constraints. Support from relatives or a care service must also be taken into account.
Where possible, professional advice should be sought before making a choice. Depending on the specific needs, a GP’s surgery, a care professional, a physiotherapist or occupational therapist, a care advisory service or a medical supplies shop can provide support. Individual training is particularly important for transfer aids, wheelchairs, care beds, positioning systems, respiratory aids and other technically or medically complex products.
Before making a decision, consider
What specific goal is to be achieved?
Can the person requiring care operate the aid themselves?
Does it fit properly and can it be adjusted correctly?
Does it work in the places where it is to be used?
Is training, adjustment or regular maintenance required?
Can the aid be tried out or borrowed initially?
Who should I contact in the event of a fault, pressure sores or difficulties with operation?
After delivery, you should practise using the aid together. It is often only then that it becomes clear whether the handle heights are correct, the brakes are within reach, pathways remain clear and everyone involved has mastered the controls. If pain, pressure sores, uncertainty or new near-misses occur, you should not simply carry on using it. In such cases, further adjustments or advice are advisable.
The most technically sophisticated aid is not automatically the best. The most suitable solution is one that is safely understood, operated and accepted in everyday life.
04
Clarifying prescriptions, applications and costs
In Germany, different funding bodies may be responsible depending on the purpose. Medically necessary assistive devices that support treatment, prevent a disability or compensate for a disability may be covered by statutory health insurance. Care aids, on the other hand, serve to facilitate home care, alleviate symptoms or enable a more independent lifestyle; the long-term care insurance fund may be responsible for these. If it is unclear which body is responsible, the health insurance fund or long-term care insurance fund should be consulted.
A doctor’s prescription is often required for an aid covered by the health insurance fund. Before placing a private order, it should be clarified whether an application, authorisation or provision via a contracted partner of the insurance scheme is required. Some products are provided on loan. Anyone choosing a model with additional features that are not medically necessary may be charged extra costs and face potential follow-up costs.
Technical care aids include, for example, care beds, positioning aids or emergency call systems. Disposable care aids include, amongst other things, disposable gloves or bed pads. Different co-payment and reimbursement rules apply to such services than to aids covered by health insurance. Amounts and eligibility criteria may change; therefore, you should check the current details directly with your own health insurance provider.
Do not rush into buying privately: first describe your needs, seek expert advice and clarify with your health or long-term care insurance provider which provision route applies.
Describe the everyday problem and the care objective in concrete terms
Clarify whether a medical prescription or a nursing recommendation is required
Enquire about the responsible funding body and contractual partner
Wait for approval before purchasing, if possible
If there are additional costs, request a written breakdown
Document delivery, instruction, repairs and returns
Actual use begins upon delivery. Instruction manuals, training and the supplier’s contact details should remain easily accessible. For electrically powered devices, attention must be paid to the charge level, cables and safe placement. Brakes, fastenings, rubber feet, straps and other safety-related parts should be checked regularly.
Cleaning and consumables are also part of the organisation. What can be disinfected? Which parts need replacing? When do supplies need replenishing? For measuring devices, it should be clear how they are to be used correctly and when abnormal readings need to be discussed with a healthcare professional. Medical aids are no substitute for a medical assessment.
Have the seat, handles and height adjusted to suit
Practise using the aid with all those involved
Check walkways, thresholds and standing areas
Schedule cleaning and replacement of consumables in advance
Report any faults or unusual noises promptly
Re-assess following a fall, hospitalisation or a significant change in condition
Particular caution is required with measures that restrict freedom or involve intensive monitoring. Bed rails, straps or certain alarm and tracking systems must not simply be regarded as standard safety equipment. In such cases, the benefits, risks, consent and, where applicable, legal requirements must be professionally assessed.
If an aid is not being used, one should not be too quick to assume a lack of willingness. It may be uncomfortable, too complicated, out of reach, incorrectly adjusted, or the instruction provided may have been insufficient. Such feedback also forms part of the review of care provision.
Care provision is not complete upon delivery. Only safe use, maintenance and regular reassessment ensure that an assistive device remains helpful in the long term.
