PATRIZIA Aftercare Hamburg

PATRIZIA Aftercare Hamburg, Germany, is an aftercare centre for severely and chronically ill children built in 2008. The PATRIZIA Foundation erected it together with the “Stiftung Familienorientierte Nachsorge Hamburg SeeYou”. It relieves the burden on the directly adjacent Catholic Children’s Hospital Wilhelmstift.

In line with the model of the “Stiftung bunter Kreis“, the aftercare centre in northern Germany closes the gap between medical help and care for children in the family. Specially trained specialists assist the families with social-therapeutic nursing and care for their children, as well as in organising the difficult everyday life of the family.

“In the aftercare centre we successfully combine medical help and care for chronically and seriously ill children and thus make everyday family life easier for their parents.”

Astrid Gabler
Managing Director

Interdisciplinary cooperation

According to the concept of the “Stiftung bunter Kreis”, teams of experienced therapists – pedagogues, psychologists, occupational therapists as well as speech therapists and nutrition specialists – work together on an interdisciplinary basis. They accompany the families both through offers in the PATRIZIA facility and at home in the family environment.

A special focus in Hamburg is on the treatment of children with diabetes and premature births. The PATRIZIA Aftercare Hamburg offers enough space for overnight rooms for the family. Due to the spatial proximity to the hospital, the whole family can be seamlessly integrated into the therapy during the challenging time.

See the video of the project. Read also Ole’s and Tafreed’s tale of happiness.

With the resources from the Corona Fund Education Healthcare, we were able to compensate for financial losses caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, a digital range of services (systems, licences and expansion of a token system for location-independent work) was expanded and communication with families was improved through a telephone-supported interpreting service. Our partner SeeYou was thus given the guarantee that PATRIZIA Aftercare Hamburg will continue to be able to offer all services.

Our Project-Partner:

Watch the video for more information about the PATRIZIA Aftercare Hamburg

Tales of Happiness from Hamburg

Ole’s tale of happiness

It’s not only adults who get diabetes. It’s a shock to families when a child suddenly becomes diabetic, and something that turns everything on its head – as was the case with Ole.

Ole was identified as having Type 1 diabetes at the age of four when he was admitted to a children’s hospital with severe hyperglycemia. His diagnosis came like a bolt from the blue and day-to-day family routines were thrown up in the air. Ole’s mum spent two weeks at the children’s hospital to accompany her son and learn how to use an insulin pump.

A smooth handover

Ole and his family were first put in touch with the SeeYou centre at PATRIZIA Aftercare Hamburg during his time as an inpatient. An aftercare nurse provided help to the family by talking everything through, suggesting different ways to move forward and organising Ole’s discharge from hospital. The nurse also visited the family several times at home to provide social and medical care, answer questions and provide expert tips.

This was a huge help for Ole’s parents in feeling safe about dealing with his diabetes. At first, Ole had to check his blood sugar levels several times a day. 

His aftercare nurse provided welcome encouragement and reassurance for his family. And over time, Ole and the rest of his family established a regular routine and became more confident in coping with his condition.

How is Ole doing now?

Ole turned 14 in 2020, by which time he was in year eight at school. He has a new insulin pump with an interactive sensor. He is still a regular visitor at the aftercare centre, and his mother occasionally has to remind him to change his sensor and catheter. But otherwise, Ole is basically able to manage his diabetes himself – and of course has plenty of other things to think about.

Tafreed’s tale of happiness

Right in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, tiny Tafreed was born in Hamburg with a mystery metabolic disorder and a weak heart. After seven weeks in hospital, Tafreed was finally allowed to go home to his family. But his family, who only came to the city a couple of years ago from Pakistan, felt extremely insecure about the condition of their new-born child. The family lives in a one-room flat on the sixth floor of what can only be described as concrete flats. To feed the family, Tafreed’s father works day and night as a lorry driver. And then there’s Tafreed’s sister, now 18 months old, who also needs looking after by the family.

The family received help in this difficult time through an intensive care nurse for children from SeeYou foundation. She supported the family for twelve weeks and helped them to cope step by step with everyday situations and ensured that Tafreed received the medical support he needed. Under the most complicated conditions possible due to the coronavirus, the aftercare nurse showed the parents how to administer medication and gave them training on handling such a poorly baby. She also lined up a German course for Tafreed’s mother and found someone to accompany her on a day-to-day basis – someone who also spoke her language.

After twelve weeks of support from the specialists, things are now looking much better on a number of fronts.

afreed is now quite well and there’s a noticeable bond between the baby and his parents. His big sister is also coping better with the new situation. The family was also able to move into a larger apartment. Despite the burden of little Tafreed’s illness, the family can trust in a successful future. Tafreed’s condition is a burden on the family, but it can still look forward to a brighter future.