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Peter Gerber
![Annelies Neier (38) works at the Spitex Bern-Nord.]()
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1/11
Annelies Neier (38) works at the Spitex Bern-Nord.
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Peter Gerber
![Your day starts at seven in the morning.]()
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2/11
Your day starts at seven in the morning.
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Peter Gerber
![The first stop is Martha Lehmann's (91) apartment. The elderly had to go to the hospital a few weeks ago because of a Covid disease.]()
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3/11
The first stop is Martha Lehmann’s (91) apartment. The elderly had to go to the hospital a few weeks ago because of a Covid disease.
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Peter Gerber
![Today Neier only measures her blood pressure. But the visit alone is important to Lüthi. At the moment the elderly woman is living quite isolated.]()
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10/11
Today Neier only measures her blood pressure. But the visit alone is important to Lüthi. At the moment the elderly woman is living quite isolated.
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Peter Gerber
![Annelies Neier and her team are the only caregivers for some patients during the pandemic.]()
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11/11
Annelies Neier and her team are the only caregivers for some patients during the pandemic.
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Annelies Neier (38) helps where it is no longer possible to do it alone. With Martha Lehmann (91) even before getting up. It is 7.30 a.m., the sun is still hiding behind the Bantiger hill east of Uettligen, near Bern. The elderly woman lies in bed with disheveled hair and warns: “I’m still a little bit balabala.” Annelies Neier takes a pair of black socks off the chair next to the bed. Support stockings.
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Neier is a Spitex nurse. She helps her clients with getting dressed, showering and doing the housework. Martha Lehmann protests: “Not the socks, rather the stockings in the cold.”
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It was only a few weeks ago that the elderly woman was infected with the corona virus. Shortness of breath, hospital, isolation. «The worst part was the feeling when coughing. I always thought: Now I’m suffocating. “
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She continues to find it difficult to walk
Neier is the savior in need. During the five weeks of isolation, the Spitex nurses were the only contacts that Lehmann remained. They took care of everything: shopping, maintenance, housekeeping. And it was one of them who called the paramedics when the elderly woman could barely breathe. “It’s much better now, isn’t it?” Asks Neier. Lehmann: “Only running is not the same.”
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Two daughters, two sons, three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren – Lehmann is still one of those who have a stable social environment. “But for some we are the only caregivers,” says Neier.
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Meanwhile, the sun shimmers as a thin strip over the hills. Lehmann is fully dressed and is having breakfast. Spitex says goodbye: “Watch out for the black ice!”
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Better at home than in the hospital
Neier is the good friend. The “angel in white”, as she calls the next customer. Christin Guillaume (44) lives two villages further – in Hinterkappelen BE. “If it weren’t for the Spitex, I’d be in the hospital instead of being at home here.”
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And being at home means a lot to Guillaume. Your apartment is lovingly decorated. Spitex comes by twice a day. The association wants to be changed. Neier counts the tablets in Guillaume’s boxes. Everything is right. “There are always the same women with me. You build a relationship that means a lot to me, ”says Guillaume.
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“Learned to differentiate myself”
Neier is a bureaucrat. Must be. 35 minutes for Ms. Lehmann, 40 to 60 minutes for Ms. Guillaume. The health insurance does not pay more. Spitex would have to pay for overtime.
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The days are clocked: Chatting while changing bandages, telling a joke, listening. More is not possible. “I’ve learned to set myself apart and to let it be good,” says the nurse.
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She gets back in the car. Back towards Martha Lehmann. It is day The weather was cloudy. Annelies Neier is happy about the short break. “Each of my customers has a different situation, a different story. In between you have to take a deep breath. “
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Fates of life and death
Neier is a nurse. She looks after seniors who can no longer manage household and hygiene on their own. Or younger people who are recovering from an accident. And sick people who will never get well again. “If one of my clients dies, that concerns me. Sure. For that I have colleagues to whom I can tell what bothers me. “
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Katharina Lüthi (74) lives next door to Martha Lehmann. The television is on in her small apartment, wool and knitting needles are on the table.
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“Huh, is that cold,” she calls out when the Spitex employee attaches the blood pressure monitor to her arm: “You don’t like that, I know.” Lüthi laughs: “I’m going to get a cramp!”
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“The loneliness troubles me”
Neier is a pastor. But she hasn’t been to Katharina Lüthi’s for a long time, as the senior citizen notes. Spitex visits her three times a week: to shower, to do the housework and to change the plaster on the prosthetic leg.
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A little structure in empty everyday life. Lüthi cooks at home and is reluctant to leave her apartment because of the pandemic. “The loneliness gives me trouble,” she says. At Spitex she can let out her feelings. “No matter how I feel, it will be accepted.”
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Four to eight customers a morning
But that day she has plans, says Katharina Lüthi. “Now I have to cook lunch and in the afternoon the Spitex comes again to take a shower. After that, I’ll be off work. “
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End of working day. Neier doesn’t have that for a long time. She looks after four to eight customers one morning. Then a break and a few more visits in the evening.
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Outside in the corridor she meets Martha Lehmann again. She has just come from the hairdresser, her son would have driven her. This ends Neier’s morning as it began. Just less disheveled.
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So it is for all of us goes better![]()
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Many people in Switzerland also suffer emotionally from the effects of the Corona crisis. That is why the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) is initiating the “Talk about it. To find help”. It will take place on December 10, 2020.
The aid organizations Pro Mente Sana, Dargebotene Hand, Pro Juventute, Pro Senectute, Caritas and the Swiss Red Cross, together with many other actors, are devoting themselves to the most diverse aspects of mental health. People in difficult situations should experience solidarity and be informed about specific offers of help. The day also sensitizes the general population to be attentive to the environment and to provide help.
BLICK focuses on this important topic and reports in detail before, during and after the day of action.
More information at https://bag-coronavirus.ch/hilfe/
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