Dresden (dpa/sn) – The Free State has funded the work of outpatient hospice services since 2002 with a total of more than 6.8 million euros. In addition to the employed specialists, the volunteers made “an important contribution to a humane and comforting end of life,” said Minister of Social Affairs Petra Köpping (SPD), according to the announcement before the Sunday of the Dead. They would help ensure that the seriously ill and the bereaved receive support from society.
According to the ministry, the services are largely financed by the health insurance companies, which have spent a total of 56.7 million euros on them since 2002. For 2022, the Free State will again provide up to 260,000 euros. In 2021, a good 2,900 terminal care services were made possible and a total of 2,345 volunteers were deployed. Many of them are organized in one of the 55 nationwide outpatient hospice services, look after families in which the seriously ill and dying are cared for at home – and increasingly also in inpatient care facilities and hospitals.
With Eternity Sunday, also known as the Sunday of the Dead, the Protestant church year ends one week before the first Advent. It is dedicated to the memory of the deceased and dates back to the time of the Reformation.