Dementia is a psychiatric syndrome that can be part of various diseases of the brain. In most cases, the course of dementia is chronic and continuous. This is partly related to the nature of the underlying disease – whether it is a degenerative (progressively affecting the brain) or a non-degenerative disease.
In the case of dementia, various deficits occur at different levels of the brain‘s functionality. Both limitations in thinking, i.e. in cognitive abilities, and losses in emotional or social understanding are part of the clinical picture. Often, the first thing that becomes noticeable is a deteriorating short-term memory.
Later, speech and sometimes even motor skills are deficient. The further the disease and thus in most cases the dementia progresses, the more dependent the patients become in everyday life. More and more abilities are lost and have to be replaced by another hand until complete care is needed.
The amount of time and effort required can vary depending on the severity of the dementia – thus dementia patients are also assigned to different levels of care. The five different levels of care help to divide them up and must be determined by qualified personnel. The review of the nursing requirements is always preceded by an application for a degree of care.
Since the new care reform, which has been in force since 1. 1. 2017, the care levels have been replaced by the care grades.
This has significantly improved the situation for dementia patients in Germany. Previously, dementia patients were only granted long-term care if they suffered from physical complaints in addition to dementia. Depending on how severely limited dementia patients are in their ability to cope with everyday life, they are assigned to care levels 1, 2 or 3. In addition to current information on these first three care levels, you will also find information on care levels 0 to 3, since the term “care levels” is still in circulation due to the recent change at the beginning of the year. If there are further physical complaints and thus the need for care increases, those affected can also be classified in higher care levels.
