Pflege-Selbsthilfeverband e.V.

Initiative für eine menschenwürdige Pflege

Qui sommes-nous

The Self-Help Care Association (Pflege-Selbsthilfeverband e.V.) is a national self-help organisation working to ensure the rights of people dependent on care regardless of where and by whom the care is taking place.
The Association is a syndicate of interested parties – people in need of care, family members caring for them at home and professional carers – anyone, indeed, concerned with the care of those in need.
The Association was founded in October 2005, on the initiative of Adelheid von Stösser, in order to offer backing to critics of the present situation.

Our four major concerns:
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
• It is more important to add life to your years than to add years to your life.
• Help – or at least don’t harm.
• Help others to help themselves.

Our individual aims:
• We campaign for the priority of emotional and spiritual human needs – affectionate attention.
• We campaign for the avoidance or minimisation of care dependancy wherever possible and advocate that the role of doctors and carers should be adapted toward this aim – maintaining health.
• We campaign for only giving medication after affectionate care and other natural help have not proved successful – healing.
• We campaign for giving appropriate support to carers, so they can better handle the often difficult situations and experiences they are faced with – support.
• We campaign for judging the quality of facilities and care services by their results – evaluation.
• We campaign for the appreciation of the dedication of home carers and their involvement in the decision-making process – together.
• We campaign that in the case of allegations of the violation of human rights in connection with those dependent on care, reactions should be appropriate and no-one should be dismissed or excluded because they have dared to identify deficiencies – justice.
• We campaign for the strengthening of carers and the reduction of regulations and laws which only serve scientific ends or are seen as an end in themselves – strengthening.

Activities:
• We advise and support.
• We intervene.
• We point out alternatives.

Adelheid von Stösser is the President of the Self-Help Care Association.

On request we can offer other net participants advice, and provide up to date information and contacts in the field or our work