Things like walking aids, wheelchairs, and aids for bathing and showering are known in medical German as “Hilfsmittel”.

Which particular item a person needs will depend on their individual situation. The doctor or therapist can help you choose; their professional expertise enables them to explain what items of assistive equipment could be helpful in your situation.

Statutory health funds (Krankenkassen) will pay for assistive equipment provided the item is included in a special list - the directory of assistive equipment (Hilfsmittelverzeichnis). You also need to obtain a doctor’s prescription and the statutory health fund’s approval before you get the item.

When the prescription has been approved by the health fund, you can order the item from one of the health fund's recognized dealers. If the health fund refuses to pay for the item of equipment, you have the right to appeal within the specified period of time.

The directory of assistive equipment is relevant if you are insured with one of the statutory health funds (gesetzliche Krankenkassen). If you have private health insurance, however, your insurer may cover the costs fully, partly, or not at all depending what type of policy you have. It’s best to contact your health insurer and ask for information and advice.

Further information about assistive equipment is available from the Federal Ministry of Health.

In recent years, numerous online self-help options have sprung up on social media, online forums and chat rooms. Often, spaces like these are set up and moderated by established patient organizations in much the same way as classical self-help groups.

NAKOS (the national self-help groups’ support organization) provides an up-to-date overview of COVID-19 self-help groups in Germany and includes a number of links to other opportunities for making contact online.

Self-help groups have been established in many towns during the pandemic. They enable affected people and their families to talk to each other about their experiences.

The groups discuss many different topics such as long COVID, dealing with acute cases, loneliness, worries, anxiety and other psychological troubles caused by the pandemic.

NAKOS (the national self-help groups’ support organization) provides an up-to-date overview of COVID-19 self-help groups in Germany.

If you’re looking for support specifically for young people, the website for youth self-help is a good place to go.

A number of national support schemes are in place to lessen social hardship due to the pandemic. The Federal Labor Ministry’s Coronavirus guide helps you find out what support you can get.

The family website of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth provides an overview of the financial help for families in the pandemic.

The Federal Employment Agency provides information about short-time working benefit and other potential sources of assistance.

The social advocacy organizations (VdK and SoVD) provide information on which additional benefits you may be able to receive from the pension insurance system, the federal employment agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) and other sources.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a tremendous burden for many people. Everyday life is hard and the future seems uncertain. That leads to worries and anxiety. Studies have shown that contact restrictions are a great burden, especially for young people, and can trigger or emphasize feelings of loneliness.

It’s important to be aware that there are many points of contact you can turn to for help if you’re suffering from negative feelings.

• If you have acute anxiety or panic attacks you can contact crisis aid services like telephone helplines or Nummer gegen Kummer.
• There are also numerous local, religious and independent organizations offering psychosocial support, such as Diakonie (Christian, protestant), Caritas (Christian, catholic) and AWO (non-confessional national welfare organization).
• The Institute for Psychology at Greifswald University provides videos and other help for adults, young people and children dealing with mood swings, anxiety, depression and loneliness in the pandemic.
• You may want to talk to other people who’ve been similarly affected. During the pandemic, corona self-help groups have grown up in many towns. NAKOS (the national self-help groups’ support organization) provides an up-to-date overview of COVID-19 self-help groups in Germany.

In some cases, psychotherapy can also be helpful. Ask your family doctor or another physician about this. Together you can discuss what to do next and how you can find psychotherapeutic help.

The “Treatment” section provides more information and links regarding psychotherapy.

Many of the patient advice centers provide information and advice free of charge.

For information about medical questions and on subjects like pensions, care and benefits, the centers listed here provide advice free of charge.

Are you looking for help, information, advice?

The first person to go to if you have questions about health should be your family doctor.

But there are also many other organizations who can help if you have questions.

• For general questions about health or about health insurance and care insurance: UPD, Germany’s independent patient advisory body, and the citizen phone line of the federal ministry of health.
• For questions about the law as it affects employment and society: the citizen phone line of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
• For questions about pensions and care: The service centers of the national pension authority Deutsche Rentenversicherung and local care support centers. The national pension authority can also advise you about rehabilitation.
• For people with disabilities and people who are likely to become disabled: EUTB (independent inclusion advice) provides support and advice if you have questions about rehabilitation and inclusion.

In acute emergencies – for example with sudden severe pain, breathing difficulties or a very high temperature – you should get medical help as soon as possible.

Emergency service, tel. 112

In life-threatening situations (e.g. serious breathing difficulties as a result of COVID-19, serious chest pain that could indicate a heart attack or symptoms suggesting a stroke) you can contact the emergency service by calling 112.

Medical standby service / Medical emergency practices, tel. 116 117

Calling 116117 connects you to the standby service of the independent medical practitioners (Bereitschaftsdienst der niedergelassenen Ärzte). If you have an illness you would normally go to your doctor about, the standby service can arrange contact with medical emergency practices and provides quick out-of-hours help when treatment can’t be delayed until the next weekday.

Appointment services

If you want to see a specialist as soon as possible, the appointment services run by the KVs (regional medical associations) may be able to help. When you use appointment services, you should be aware that you will likely not be able to choose which doctor you see and you may also need to travel further.

Important Information

Some people avoid attending appointments at the hospital or doctor’s practice for fear of catching COVID-19. From a medical point of view, though, postponing or cancelling necessary appointments or check-ups for fear of infection does not make sense. In emergencies it can be essential to get help as quickly as possible but check-ups shouldn’t be postponed either.

If in doubt, you should call the hospital or doctor’s practice and ask whether an appointment is possible and how you can best protect yourself from infection while there.

The following institutions provide reliable information that is updated regularly:

• The Federal Ministry of Health provides information about coronavirus and COVID-19 that is up-to-date and reliable. This information is available not only on the Ministry’s own website but also on the health website gesund.bund.de.
• BZgA (Federal Center for Health Education) has a website devoted to infection protection that offers background information, tips on hygiene and information sheets giving up-to-date information on coronaviruses and COVID-19.
• The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) also provides a broad range of background information on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. RKI is the federal government's central institution in the area of disease monitoring and prevention. One of its tasks is to combat infectious diseases.

If you have questions relating to employment law, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs provides information about the rights and responsibilities of employees in the pandemic.

You are entitled to a severely disabled person's ID card if you have been found to have a degree of disability (GdB) of 50 or more. A severely disabled person’s ID card brings financial advantages, such as cheaper tickets on local public transport – sometimes for an accompanying person as well - if your disability affects your mobility or vision.

Disabled students are entitled to higher student support grants (BAFöG). A severely disabled person’s ID card can also help you obtain a certificate of entitlement to accommodation (Wohnberechtigungsschein). Students with disabilities are entitled to compensatory conditions in their studies and exams. The disability needs to be certified by a (specialist) physician. A recognized severe disability is not necessary.

Severely disabled people have special employments rights, for example in the choice and design of their workplace and with regard to the requirements placed upon them at work, support at work, entitlement to part-time work and protection from dismissal. Severely disabled people are also entitled to take more days off work.

Further information and advice on making an application are available on the website einfach-teilhaben.de run by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

The social advocacy organizations VdK and SoVD give further information about the severely disabled person's ID card.

Further information about studying with a disability is available from the national student association Deutsches Studentenwerk.