Konradinum: New construction after criticism brought a lot
Inhumane structures, overcrowding, no barrier-free access, too few bathrooms and too many psychotropic drugs used – these have been the main criticisms of the Ombudsman’s Office of the old Konradinum since 2015. After years of discussion, the facility was finally rebuilt at a cost of eight and a half million euros. At the end of December 2021, the residents moved into the new building, which is just a stone’s throw from the old Konradinum.
Each has its own room with bathroom
36 residents with difficult lives in the Konradinum, now all with their own room and bathroom. Care bathrooms, creative rooms, a relaxation room with music and a large garden with a playground should create a stress-free atmosphere in this new home. Seven to ten external day residents are also here during the week – such as 35-year-old Isabell. Her mother Eleonore Lehner says about the new conditions: “She’s just really well accommodated. During the time when I was struggling to even let go of my daughter, during this time when I’m not with her, she is really well taken care of.”
The mother Evelyn Frauenlob is also full of praise for the new Konradinum: “It’s so beautifully bright, it’s so open. Philipp feels totally comfortable there. We have a good feeling. I’m happy to bring him here and fetch him back. You can tell he’s doing well. The whole atmosphere inside is really nice.” Johann Adlmannseder, father of a disabled daughter, sees the conditions in the new house as a great improvement: “It is also not isolated in a single room, but is part of the community.”
New Conradinum significantly improved
Head also looks great improvements
Five residential groups now enable the children, young people and adults living here to be together with the care team, who are almost 60 years old in total: “You can no longer compare the old building with the new building,” says Konradinum manager Andrea Huber. “The big criticism was, among other things, that you couldn’t keep your privacy, that there were no bathrooms of your own or that we only had one nursing bathroom available for each residential group. That has totally changed. The building was old, it just wasn’t ideal anymore, of course. The criticism was of course aimed at the building, but subliminally it hit all employees very hard.”
“For some of our residents, of course, the relocation was very difficult because they spent almost their entire lives in the ‘Alt Konradinum’,” says Gabriele Teufl, head of care. “But they have settled in really well and I have the feeling that they have really settled in and are at home.” To relieve parents with whom the disabled children live at home, there are now two rooms for short-term care.