The Alloheim Senioren-Residenz Bramsche nursing home in Lower Saxony faces scrutiny after the German Red Cross was called in amid severe staff shortages. Authorities report repeated inspections, medication mishandling, and persistent deficiencies despite fines and admission freezes.
Early on Sunday morning, June 1, the German Red Cross (DRK) was summoned to the Lower Saxony province. The nursing home, owned by one of Germany’s largest operators, unexpectedly ran out of staff to care for its 89 residents.
Stern and RTL investigations have revealed that some of the issues that were brought to light at the time were only the tip of the iceberg.
Alloheim claims that the residents of the Bramsche home are “lovingly cared for” and that there is a “comfortable, family atmosphere” on its website.
Alloheim Senioren-Residenz Bramsche: Just a temporary shortage?
Was that also the case on June 1st? Only one staff member showed up for the early shift. Six other nursing staff members reportedly called in sick at short notice. The nursing home director then asked the emergency control centre for assistance. The German Red Cross (DRK) arrived with 19 volunteers to care for the residents – until the late shift arrived.
An exceptional situation, according to the operator Alloheim in response to enquiries from stern and RTL. Care for the elderly was “guaranteed at all times.” The “established alert chain” between the home and the German Red Cross (DRK) worked “as intended”. In addition, two night shift employees supported their colleague. The DRK was replaced by its own staff that same morning.
So just a temporary bottleneck in an otherwise well-functioning home?
Until the end of September, the home supervision visited the Alloheim Bramsche 35 times
Research by Stern reveals a different picture of the conditions in the senior residence: According to the report, the nursing home inspectorate appears to have had the home under scrutiny for years due to repeated abuses.
According to the Osnabrück district, which is responsible for nursing home inspectorate, they have inspected it dozens of times since 2023. Some serious deficiencies have been identified.
The inspectors visited nine times in 2023. Eleven times in 2024. And this year up to the end of September: 35 times. The issues repeatedly concerned the handling of medications, and a few times also the staff shortages and their potential impact, a spokesperson said.
Despite repeated consultations, the inspectors found “no significant improvement” in several deficiencies. Therefore, they “increased the frequency of inspections” and temporarily imposed “various admission freezes”.
In March 2024, for example, the nursing home supervisor reportedly received several complaints about staff shortages. Because the staffing shortage was confirmed, the nursing home supervisor ordered a freeze on admissions. New residents were temporarily no longer allowed to be admitted.
Alloheim Senioren-Residenzen confirmed to Stern and RTL that it had imposed a occupancy freeze at the end of March 2024 due to a “temporary staffing shortage”. However, this was “lifted prematurely” after seven weeks. Since then, the Bramsche facility has been employing “an average of more staff than required.”
On June 2 of this year, one day after the high-profile emergency operation, the inspectors came again for an “occasion-related” inspection.
Although there was sufficient staffing again, the inspectors found deficiencies in the handling of medications. Residents’ medications should generally be stored in a locked cabinet and dispensed to each resident according to the medication plan.
Carelessness can quickly become dangerous – for example, if too high or too low a dose is dispensed, or if the medication is discontinued too early.
Because the regulations for the “proper handling of medicinal products” apparently did not bring sufficient improvement, the office has now even imposed coercive fines.
A few weeks ago, at the beginning of September 2025, according to the district spokesperson, a new inspection was conducted. This revealed that the deficiencies – for example, in the handling of medications – had still not been fully remedied.
The nursing home supervisory authority is also considering “further steps”. The Nursing Home Act offers several other options, such as additional fines, proceedings for administrative offences, or, in extreme cases, closure. However, the district spokesperson stated that the measure must be “proportionate”.
Alloheim told German media that it is “in contact” with the nursing home supervision authority regarding the current regulations. The company is also working closely with the authorities and with additional specialists to improve medication management. Alloheim has also filled the responsible positions. This is now showing “first results”.
Source: Stern
