When someone suddenly needs care, a fixed order of steps helps: first sort out medical treatment, then apply for a Pflegegrad (care grade) straight away, then organise help at home. The call to the Pflegekasse (long-term care insurance fund) is the most important step, because benefits begin with the month of the application. You can get free and independent advice at every Pflegestützpunkt (care support point) – even without a Pflegegrad.

Details

A need for care rarely announces itself. A fall, a stroke, a discharge from hospital after only a few days – and suddenly relatives have to take decisions they have never taken before. The feeling of losing track of everything is completely normal: the Landespflegeplan Berlin 2025 (Berlin's state care plan) itself describes the landscape of services as a “jungle of responsibilities and services” in which lay people cannot find their way alone (pp. 23, 92).

You are not alone in this. In 2023 around 211.999 people in need of care lived in Berlin (2017: 135.680). 87 per cent of them – some 184.300 people – are cared for at home, 54 per cent exclusively by relatives. Around 282.000 people in Berlin care for someone close to them (Landespflegeplan Berlin 2025, pp. 26, 33, 52, 62).

Why the date of the application matters so much

The Pflegekasse pays benefits backdated to the first day of the month in which the application was received – not from the day of the assessment and not from the decision. Every day of hesitation can therefore cost real money. The application can be made informally: a phone call or a short letter is enough. The Pflegekasse will send you the form afterwards.

What you do not yet have to decide in the first few days

Whether a place in a care home will be needed, whether someone cuts back at work, whether the flat is adapted – all of that you can decide later and with advice. What matters first is: medical treatment, the application, immediate help for the coming weeks.

What to do?

1. Sort out medical treatment and discharge. If the person in need of care is in hospital, speak to the social services department (Sozialdienst) straight away. The hospital is obliged to provide discharge management (§ 39 Abs. 1a SGB V): it must prepare follow-up care, aids and equipment, home nursing care and rehabilitation. Insist on a written discharge plan and a realistic discharge date.
2. Apply for a Pflegegrad – today, not next week. Ring the Pflegekasse (it is based at the health insurance fund). Say the sentence: “Ich beantrage Leistungen der Pflegeversicherung.” (I am applying for benefits from the long-term care insurance.) Make a note of the date, the time and the name of the person on the phone. The application can be made by the person in need of care or by someone holding a power of attorney.
3. Start a Pflegetagebuch (care diary). For one to two weeks, note down which tasks require help, how long they take and what happens at night. That is the best preparation for the home visit by the Medizinischer Dienst (the medical service that assesses care needs). More on this: The MD home visit.
4. Get free advice. Pflegestützpunkte give advice independently, free of charge and without an appointment – even without a Pflegegrad. In addition you have a legal entitlement to individual care advice from the Pflegekasse (§ 7a SGB XI). Take a list of your questions with you.
5. Check the immediate help that is available even without a Pflegegrad. Working relatives may stay away from work for up to ten working days in order to organise the care (short-term absence from work, § 2 Pflegezeitgesetz); for this time the Pflegekasse pays Pflegeunterstützungsgeld (a carer's support allowance). After a stay in hospital, transitional care in hospital (§ 39e SGB V) and home nursing care (§ 37 SGB V) are also options.
6. Organise care at home. Agree who takes on which task, and obtain quotes: an outpatient care service, Tagespflege (day care), meals on wheels, an emergency call system, a transport service, everyday companionship. At the same time, check the flat for trip hazards. For adaptations – a shower seat, a ramp, grab rails, widening doorways – the Pflegekasse pays up to 4.180 Euro per measure (as at July 2026).
7. Think of yourself and sort out the legal side. Check whether there is a Vorsorgevollmacht (lasting power of attorney) and a Patientenverfügung (advance directive) – without a power of attorney, even spouses and children are not allowed to decide everything. Share out tasks in the family in writing, and look for a group for relatives early on. Care is a marathon, not a sprint.

Where to find help

• Pflegestützpunkte: Berlin has 36 Pflegestützpunkte, and Brandenburg has at least one in every district and every independent city. They give advice free of charge and independently of any insurance fund or provider. You will find addresses and opening hours under Directory – filter there by the service type “Beratungsstelle / Pflegestützpunkt” (advice centre / care support point) and by your district.
• Outpatient services, day care, everyday help: likewise via Directory, with filters for language, specialisation and accessibility.
• Free care courses for relatives (§ 45 SGB XI) as well as groups for relatives and information evenings can be found under Events.
• Further reading: Understanding Pflegegrade 1 to 5 and Pflegestützpunkte: finding free advice.

All amounts: as at July 2026. Figures on care provision: Landespflegeplan Berlin 2025.