Reference Biberist

Spitex, nursing home and bonacasa optimally integrated

As the example of the cooperative "Läbesgarte" in Biberist shows, municipal Spitex services can be easily implemented into the service offer of a nursing home, but also in the one of bonacasa.

In the canton of Solothurn, every community has to provide a Spitex basic offer. In order to fulfil this obligation, almost all communities conclude a service agreement with a service supplier who has an operating licence from the canton. Since 2004, the cooperative Läbesgarte Biberist has provided the Spitex service, which has been outsourced from the community organisation. Due to the positive experience with the Läbesgarte cooperative, the service agreement has been extended on 19 August 2019 for further five years.

Thanks to the integration of Spitex Biberist into the nursing home, the cost deficits supported by the Biberist community per worked Spitex-hour has been reduced threefold since 2008. In 2008, the community contribution per hour was around CHF 39, in 2018 it was only CHF 13. In the same period, the number of hours worked almost tripled from 11 000 to 32 000. The consolidation of Spitex with the Läbesgarte nursing home brings even more advantages.

Only one organisation provides the nursing and care services. This results in advantages for the benefit recipients and their relatives. There are no conflicts of interest between the nursing centre and Spitex: Mixed service offers from care home and Spitex can be implemented more easily or were rather realized in Biberist in the residential buildings of bonacasa. There are not only service offers from Spitex and Läbesgarte, but also from bonacasa integrated and available on request. The implementation of the prescribed quality standards is easier in a larger organisation. There are additional synergy gains in administration. Finally, the local community of Biberist also benefits from the definition of a coherent old-age policy and the development of a generational model.

The managers from the Biberist community, from the cooperative Läbesgarte and from bonacasa have made a unique success story with the fusion of Spitex, care home and bonacasa: beneficiaries and their relatives as well as the public and private stakeholders benefit from this collaboration.