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DROWNINGS

Five people drown in weekend swimming accidents around Germany

Several people around Germany died over the weekend in drowning accidents. Here’s why they occurred, and how experts say further tragedies in the water can be prevented.

Published: 26 June 2023 12:24 CEST
Lake Konstanz
Lake Konstanz in southern Germany, where a 38-year old man died over the weekend. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

The accidents occurred in waterways deemed not suitable for swimming, or where it is even expressly forbidden to go into the water.

In Lower Saxony, in the municipality of Bakum north of Osnabrück, a 52-year-old man died in a quarry pond on Sunday, according to police. 

His companion, a 60-year-old woman, was also found floating lifeless in the lake, but rescue workers were able to resuscitate her. Bathing is expressly forbidden in the lake, according to signs posted there.

READ ALSO: How to stay safe while swimming in Germany this summer

A man also died in Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia while trying to swim across the Dortmund-Ems Canal. 

According to the police on Sunday evening, the 32-year-old was accompanied by his 21-year-old girlfriend when he tried to swim through the canal from the eastern to the western bank. He suddenly sank in the middle of the canal.

His girlfriend tried in vain to save her boyfriend. Rescue divers from the fire brigade were able to recover the man, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful and the 32-year-old died on the spot. 

The Münster police, who were investigating the case, called it a “tragic accident”.

A bathing accident in Lake Konstanz also ended fatally for a man. The 38-year-old was in the water with his girlfriend near Langenargen, Baden-Württemberg on Sunday evening when she complained of pain in her leg and returned to the shore, according to police.

When she turned around, she could no longer see her boyfriend and called for help.

Two bathers rushed to help and pulled the man out of the water. On the shore, according to the police, he was taken to a fire boat and they tried to resuscitate him. The man died in hospital.

There had already been fatalities in North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday: According to the police, an 86-year-old man died in a quarry pond in Issum near Duisburg after he had tried to cool down. 

Emergency services recovered his body on Saturday afternoon after a search operation in which a police drone was reportedly also used. In nearby Kerken, a 73-year-old swimmer died in a bathing accident in the Eyller See natural outdoor pool.

In Düsseldorf there was also a non-fatal accident on Saturday: three young men were caught in an undertow in the Rhine and swept away.

Rise in the number of accidents

In light of several recent fatal bathing accidents, the German Life Saving Society (DLRG) again warned of the dangers of bathing or swimming in waterways, especially those not explicitly marked for swimmers

Last year, Germans lifeguards rescued 836 people – more than at any time in almost 40 years. 

“Following rescue operations in the water, it becomes clear time and again that the people in distress are not good swimmers or cannot swim at all,” they said.

DLGR further reported that the number of drowning incidents is on the rise in Germany, with at least 355 deaths recorded last year alone.

Of these, 308 deaths occurred in inland waters: 47 people drowned in lakes, 105 in rivers, 15 in streams, 22 in ponds, and 19 in canals, according to the DLRG. Swimming pools accounted for 13 fatalities, while 18 people lost their lives in the sea. Bavaria had the highest number of drowning deaths, with 69 reported cases.

According to the DLRG, one of the most common causes of drowning in Germany is overconfidence in the water, combined with poor swimming skills.

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HEALTH

How to find available therapists in Germany

It’s no secret that mental health care can be particularly tricky to access in Germany. Here are some helpful tips for anyone who is struggling to book an appointment for therapy.

Published: 23 April 2024 12:55 CEST
How to find available therapists in Germany

The process to find psychotherapy in Germany’s urban centres is arduous – licensed therapists often have impossibly long wait times, and private practices don’t accept public health insurance.

A major reason that public insurance funded mental health care is hard to find in Germany comes down to regulations. Specifically the ‘coverage plan’ (Bedarfsplanung) that basically limits the number of licences available for publicly insured therapists in a region.

Germany’s maddening bureaucracy probably won’t be fixed any time soon. So residents in need of therapy will need to find a way through the system as it is.

So here are a few helpful tips for finding therapists, as well as how publicly insured patients can have private practice therapy costs reimbursed.

Look for therapists enrolled at academies

You’ll probably have a better chance getting an appointment with therapists who are currently in training, because not everyone knows that this option exists.

You can search for “Akademie für Psychotherapie”, to find one in your location. The Berliner Akademie für Psychotherapie, is one in the capital city, for example.

If you arrange an appointment this way, you can expect to be connected with a grad student therapist in training who needs to complete their supervised practice hours. In this case, you would see your therapist as usual, and they will be going through your session with an experienced therapist afterward.

The main advantages to seeking a therapist in training is that it may be cheaper and you can probably more readily find an appointment. A potential disadvantage is that the therapist you’ll be seeing is less experienced. 

But according to a Stockholm University study, student therapists who receive regular feedback from supervisors may be just as effective as licensed therapists at treating patients.

How to get reimbursed for going to a private practice

As mentioned above, therapists covered by public health insurance are few and far between, especially in many urban centres, and therefore regularly come with long wait times. But for those willing to do battle with the bureaucracy, there is an option to have your costs reimbursed for seeing a private practice therapist.

Specifically, public insurance providers are obligated to provide full reimbursement of costs in the event of a “supply emergency”. 

Waiting times of more than three months are considered unreasonable. So generally, patients can claim a supply emergency if they have contacted several therapists, and none of them offered available appointments within that time frame.

But you’ll want to make sure that your process is properly documented so that you won’t be stuck with the out-of-pocket costs.

First, you’ll need to document your need for psychotherapy. To get this, make an appointment for a psychotherapeutic consultation with a practice in your area, and be sure to collect a written recommendation for treatment (a PTV 11 form). 

If you don’t know where to start with this, look to the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung) for a database of therapists. You can also call 116 117 or use the 116 117 App.

After you’ve got your PTV 11 certificate, you’ll need to document your futile search for a licensed therapist. To do this, contact at least three to five therapists that have public health insurance approval. Keep a list of the names of therapists you contacted, as well as dates and times of contact and how long the waiting list for treatment is. 

Additionally, you should try to arrange treatment through the aforementioned Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, and receive confirmation if it’s not possible. So you’ll need to call 116 117, or use the 116 117 App again. But this time go through the process to have them try to find you placement with a therapist. This should take a maximum of four weeks, but rarely happens.

Finally, if you have documented all of the above and have still not found a readily available therapist, then you can seek out a private practice. You’ll need to enroll as a self-paying patient initially, but then you can submit an application for an outpatient reimbursement (Kostenerstattungsverfahren) along with the previously collected certificates and proof of your search. Private practice therapists are usually familiar with this process, and may be able to help you with the application as well.

READ ALSO: What are the main reasons internationals in Germany turn to therapy?

Free phone consultations for students

Students in Berlin can also take advantage of a free 50-minute conversation with a therapist through StudierendenWERK.

For students elsewhere, it’s worth checking what kind of mental health support services your school offers. Many German universities offer mental health support to some extent, and if school counsellors can’t provide the care that you need, they may be able to offer helpful information about where such services are available in your area.

READ ALSO: Here’s how you can get mental health help in English in Germany

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