The canton of Friborg wants to keep its seniors at home as long as possible to relieve congestion in EMS. The government presented its long-term care planning for 2026-2030 on Friday, which provides for a broad development of home care.
The Friborg State Council put a long-term care planning report for consultation on Friday for the period 2026-2030. There is talk of a “huge” challenge for public authorities, both in terms of additional infrastructure and human and financial resources.
The document presents the needs for beds in medico-social establishments (EMS) and hours of care as well as home help. It also issues projections until 2050.
The aging of the Friborg population requires a review of the organization of healthcare provision by 2030, estimates the executive. A paradigm shift is therefore necessary to cope with the increase in the number of elderly people, in a context of lack of places in EMS and shortage of nursing staff.
An aging population
The population of the canton — also the youngest in Switzerland — is expected to reach 360,572 people in 2030 (+4.7% compared to 2022), with the number of people aged 65 and over increasing by 30%, to 73,985 people. The situation is even more accentuated for people aged 90 and over, with an increase of two thirds expected, to 3,819 individuals.
For the Friborg government, demographic developments require a rethinking of the organization of care for the elderly, especially since projections predict even greater increases between 2030 and 2050. There are four times as many nonagenarians and twice as many people over 65.
The observation is therefore clear for the Council of State: by 2030, given the aging of the population, the shortage of healthcare personnel and the lack of suitable infrastructure, we must find another way to take care of seniors.
-Develop home care
This involves planning the development of home care and EMS care only for the most serious situations. Even with such a change, the number of EMS beds must be adapted annually with 114 additional beds, or a total of 3,585 beds in 2030.
Home care hours will increase by 35,000 hours per year, reaching more than 944,000 hours in 2030. A portion of people requiring light to moderate care, currently cared for in EMS, will thus be able to be gradually taken care of at home.
Home LAMal care is also expected to grow by half by 2030. The planned reorganization still requires the development of other services, notably day homes. Currently underused, these will play a more important role, according to the report from the Friborg executive.
Additional costs
In terms of nursing staff, the field of EMS and home care will have to hire respectively 135 and 33 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs per year, estimates the Council of State.
This development will have a significant impact on costs between 2026 and 2030. The increase in the residual cost of care and the support subsidies paid by the Social Security Service (SPS) for EMS and by the Health Service public health (SSP) for home care are estimated at 60 million francs, divided between the canton and the municipalities.
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