Germans sending parents to nursing homes in Poland because it is cheaper, with one in five planning to do it

'Grandma export' now recognised phenomenon in Germany

Eastern European care homes charge average €2,000 (£1,680) less per month

Germany expected to have oldest population in world by 2050

Many Germans say Polish standard of care better on average

Germany is in the throes of a 'grandma export' as one in five Germans say they are considering sending their elderly relatives to a care home abroad.



A survey released by German pollster TNS Emnid shows the so-called 'Oma-export' is becoming a trend as the cost of residential care rockets out of the remits of the state insurance.

German citizens enjoy long-term care insurance that pays out €1,550 (around £1,300) a month, but this covers less than half of the €3,250 (£2,730) average monthly cost for care inside Germany.

Cost of care: The average German care home costs around ¿3,250 (£2,730) per month, compared with ¿1,200 (approximately £1,000) for the same or better care in Poland

The European Commission predicts prices will rise, as the cost of long-term care of the elderly is expected to go up from 1.4 per cent of GDP last year to 3.3 per cent by 2060.

By contrast, the average cost of care in a Polish home is just €1,200 (just over £1,000).



Aging: More than 15 per cent of Germany's population is expected to be over the age of 60 by 2050

The German government will pay as much as €700 (£590) towards nursing care outside the country - enough together with most elderly people's pensions to cover Polish costs, often with money left over.

In December last year, the German socio-political advisory group Sozialverband Deutschland (VdK) said an 'alarm signal' should be sounded about the number of elderly Germans leaving the country.

Researchers said there were 7,146 pensioners living in Hungarian retirement homes in 2011, more than 3,000 in the Czech Republic and more than 600 in Slovakia.

Many are concerned about the trend, with journalist Heribert Prantl writing in the newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung of a 'gerontological colonialism' and commenting 'Rubbish is exported... wherever it is cheapest to dispose of them... and now we're exporting our infirm and elderly'.



But the new figures also highlight how many Germans have been disappointed by the standard of care in their own country and say Polish nursing homes are not only cheaper, but also better.

Ilona von Haldenwang, 66, said she chose a Polish nursing home for her 94-year-old mother after struggling to care for her in her own town of Bad Brueckenau in southern Germany.

Her mother had to move from her own apartment to an assisted-living arrangement, which then closed. She then went to a nursing home where Mrs Von Haldenwang slaims her mother lost weight and was given sedatives.

The €1,200-a-month Polish nursing home she chose offers 24-hour care, a double room, full board, medical care and a range of therapy programmes.

Speaking to Bloomberg news, Mrs Von Haldenwang said: ' I can only say, children, when your parents get older, send them to Poland.'



'I can only say, children, when your parents get older, send them to Poland' Ilona von Haldenwang, 66, daughter of Polish care home resident

Many top-class Polish facilities now advertise on German-language websites and cater specifically to German clients.

One home in the Polish town of Zabelkow in Silesia has German-speaking nurses, lift announcements and emergency call systems in German and shows German Bundesliga football on fancy flat-screen TVs.

The kitchen is made by Robert Bosch GmbH and serves classic German meals such as suppers of bread, meat and cheese, and even the teaspoons are made in Germany - as is all the linen and the plastic hygienic gloves worn by staff.

Since it opened at Easter, it has filled all its 34 places and six more single rooms are already reserved for when they open in November.

However, some have expressed concerns that the distance and the language barrier could lead to people being taken in by false adverts and scams.

Higher standards: Germans say Polish care homes can offer more for their relatives, even if they are far from home

One place called Pensjonat Ania in Tomislaw near the German border, which offered delights such as mushroom hunting excursions for its residents as well as an on-site nurse and ultra-cheap rooms at €400 (£340) a month, was exposed in April to be entirely non-functioning.



A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggests around 15 per cent of Germans will be over the age of 80 by 2050.

This will mean the country has the oldest population in the world, along with Japan, South Korea and Italy.