Personal care and home help in Berlin: washing, dressing and housework at home

We help with washing, showering and dressing, with the toilet, with positioning and with meals – and, if you wish, with shopping, laundry and cleaning too. From care level 2 (Pflegegrad 2) the long-term care insurance fund (Pflegekasse) pays for this as a care benefit in kind (Pflegesachleistung) under § 36 SGB XI; we bill the fund directly.

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Personal care (Grundpflege) is help with the things everyone does for themselves every day: washing, brushing teeth, getting dressed, going to the toilet, getting up, eating and drinking. When that becomes too hard after a fall, a stroke, with dementia or simply with age, one of our carers comes to the flat at fixed times. We work with what the person can still do: whoever can wash their own face keeps doing so; we take on the back, the legs and the safe step out of the shower. That keeps independence intact, and nobody becomes more dependent than necessary.

Care at home is often about more than personal care. The fridge has to be filled, the bed linen changed, the bathroom cleaned. We take on this domestic help (hauswirtschaftliche Versorgung) as well: shopping from your list, washing and changing laundry, tidying up, cleaning the flat, cooking a hot meal. Many families combine both in one visit – a shower in the morning, then fresh sheets on the bed. Home help with a care level is billed to the Pflegekasse; at care level 1 it is paid from the relief amount (Entlastungsbetrag).

We come in the morning, at midday and in the evening, including weekends and public holidays. We do not offer night visits or 24-hour care, and we say so openly in the very first conversation. Billing is not by the minute but by the agreed services, the Berlin service packages (Leistungskomplexe) – for example “small personal care” or “shopping”. If someone also needs medicines, insulin or a fresh dressing, we do that in the same visit; this treatment care (Behandlungspflege) is paid by the health insurer (Krankenkasse) on a doctor's prescription (Verordnung).

Behind the care stands Sonnenstrahlen Pflege GmbH, with a supply contract (Versorgungsvertrag) under SGB XI and approval for home nursing care under SGB V. Three offices share the area: Sickingenstr. 52 (Moabit) as the head office, Heilbronner Str. 1 (Halensee) and Theodor-Heuss-Platz 1 (Westend). From there our rounds cover Moabit, Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf and the west of Berlin. We advise in German, English or Russian – and, if you wish, relatives over the phone. We answer enquiries on the same working day.

What we take on for personal care and the household

Washing, showering, bathing

A partial wash at the basin or in bed, a shower or bath, mouth and tooth care, combing, shaving, skin care and trimming the nails.

Dressing, getting up, going to bed

Out of bed, dressed and at the breakfast table, and back again in the evening. Fixed routines help, especially with dementia, so that it is clear what comes next.

Toilet and incontinence

Help to the toilet, changing pads and incontinence products, intimate care and skin protection so that nothing gets sore.

Positioning, moving, eating and drinking

Repositioning for people confined to bed to prevent pressure sores, help with the first steps, preparing food in bite-sized pieces and feeding, making sure enough is drunk.

Home help and housekeeping

Shopping, washing and changing laundry, tidying up, cleaning bathroom and kitchen, cooking a hot meal – billable to the Pflegekasse with a care level.

Our round for personal care and home help

Anyone who is showered every morning needs a carer who reliably rings the bell at the same time. That is why we deliberately keep our area manageable: from Moabit and the southern part of Wedding (13353) across Charlottenburg and into the south-west, driven from our offices in Moabit, Halensee and Westend. These localities are fixed points on the rounds:

  • Moabit and Hansaviertel
  • Tiergarten
  • Wedding (13353 only)
  • Charlottenburg-Nord
  • Siemensstadt
  • Spandau
  • Westend
  • Charlottenburg
  • Halensee
  • Wilmersdorf
  • Schmargendorf, Grunewald and Dahlem
  • Schöneberg and Friedenau

Postcodes: 10551, 10553, 10555, 10557, 10559, 10585, 10587, 10589, 10623, 10625, 10627, 10629, 10707, 10709, 10711, 10713, 10717, 10719, 10777, 10779, 10787, 10789, 10825, 12159, 12161, 13353, 13597, 13599, 13627, 13629, 14050, 14052, 14053, 14055, 14057, 14059, 14193, 14195, 14197, 14199

What personal care costs and who pays

Personal care and domestic help are paid by the Pflegekasse under SGB XI, not by the health insurer. From care level 2 you are entitled every month to the care benefit in kind (Pflegesachleistung) under § 36 SGB XI: 796 € at care level 2, 1,497 € at care level 3, 1,859 € at care level 4 and 2,299 € at care level 5. Each visit is billed according to the Berlin service packages, plus a call-out charge (Einsatzpauschale) per visit of 5.70 € during the day on weekdays and 11.40 € at weekends, on public holidays and for visits from 8 pm. An example with our 2026 prices: full personal care with a shower costs 36.12 €, so 41.82 € per visit on a weekday and 47.52 € on a Sunday. At care level 2 the benefit therefore covers about 19 such weekday visits a month. Anything beyond that you pay yourself – it is already shown in the cost estimate (Kostenvoranschlag) you receive from us before the first visit.

At care level 1 there is no Pflegesachleistung yet. What remains is the relief amount (Entlastungsbetrag) under § 45b SGB XI of 131 € a month, which you can spend with us as a recognised provider on home help, shopping, laundry or accompaniment – we do not use it for personal care. From care level 2 it comes on top of the benefit in kind. Under current law, unused amounts carry over into the following year and lapse there on 30 June. If you take on part of the care yourself, you can combine the benefit in kind with care allowance (Pflegegeld) as a combined benefit (Kombinationsleistung) and then receive a share of the Pflegegeld. For people with statutory insurance we bill the Pflegekasse directly; anyone with private insurance receives our invoice and submits it to their own insurer.

Four steps to personal care at home

  1. A call or a message: Tell us where help is needed and at what time of day. By phone on 030 64828209, in writing to info@sonnenstrahlen-pflege.de. We get back to you on the same working day.
  2. Free first visit: A qualified nurse comes to the flat, looks at the bathroom, the bed and the routes through the home, and discusses with you and your relatives what is needed. This visit costs nothing.
  3. Cost estimate and contract: You receive in writing which services are planned at which times, what the Pflegekasse covers and whether a share remains for you. Only when that suits you do you sign the care contract (Pflegevertrag).
  4. The first visits: From the agreed day we come at fixed times. If the need changes, for example after a hospital stay, we adjust the plan and the cost estimate.

Questions about personal care and home help

What is the difference between small and full personal care?

Small personal care (kleine Körperpflege) covers a partial wash at the basin or in bed, dressing and undressing, mouth and tooth care, combing and shaving. Full personal care (große Körperpflege) is the whole-body wash, a shower or a bath, with the same steps before and after. If someone also needs help getting up or going to bed, the service is called “extended” (erweitert). With us in 2026, small personal care costs 18.06 € per visit and full personal care 36.12 €, each plus the call-out charge.

What does basic care (Grundpflege) by a nursing service cost?

In Berlin, billing is per service according to service packages (Leistungskomplexe), not per minute. With us in 2026, small personal care costs 18.06 €, extended small personal care 27.09 € and full personal care 36.12 €, plus a call-out charge per visit of 5.70 € during the day on weekdays or 11.40 € at weekends, on public holidays and from 8 pm. From care level 2 the long-term care fund (Pflegekasse) pays for this out of the care benefit in kind, from 796 € (care level 2) to 2,299 € (care level 5) a month; you only pay what goes beyond that.

What does home help cost?

With us in 2026, cleaning the flat costs 23.67 €, shopping 21.04 €, changing and washing the laundry 42.08 € and preparing a hot meal 23.67 €, each per visit according to the Berlin service packages, plus the call-out charge per visit. At care level 2 to 5 the long-term care fund pays for this out of the care benefit in kind, and the relief amount (Entlastungsbetrag) of 131 € a month comes on top. At care level 1 only the relief amount remains; without a care level you pay the prices yourself.

Does the Pflegekasse pay for home help?

Yes, if there is a care level. From care level 2, domestic help is part of the Pflegesachleistung and comes out of the same monthly budget as personal care. In addition, the relief amount of 131 € a month can be used for it; at care level 1 it is the only route. The condition is a recognised provider; as an approved care service we are one, and we bill the Pflegekasse.

There is no care level yet – can you still come?

Yes, until the fund decides, as a self-pay service at the prices in our cost estimate. You apply for a care level informally at the Pflegekasse; a phone call is enough. The date of receipt counts, because benefits are paid from the month of application; the fund has to decide within 25 working days. So it is worth not putting the application off.

Do you also come in the evening, at weekends and on public holidays?

Yes. We come in the morning, at midday and in the evening, including Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. At weekends, on public holidays and from 8 pm the call-out charge is higher: 11.40 € instead of 5.70 €. We do not offer night visits or 24-hour care. The fixed times are agreed at the first visit.

Can the care service also give medicines or change dressings?

Yes, in the same visit. That is treatment care (Behandlungspflege); it is not paid by the Pflegekasse but by the health insurer on a doctor's prescription. For you this means two billing routes but only one appointment – for example a shower in the morning and then the insulin. We handle the billing with both funds.

Do you even come to my address?

Whether we can come to you regularly is decided by the postcode – the list is at the top of this page. The core of the area is Moabit, Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf and Halensee, plus Westend, Charlottenburg-Nord, Siemensstadt, Spandau, Schmargendorf, Schöneberg and Friedenau, and from Wedding only the 13353. Ring us with your address and it is settled in two minutes.

Arrange a first visit for personal care

Phone 030 64828209 or info@sonnenstrahlen-pflege.de. If you have it, keep the care level decision (Bescheid) to hand – then we can judge on the phone how many visits the budget will cover. We get back to you on the same working day; the first visit to your flat costs nothing.

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What you can rely on

  • Licensed care provider: Care provision contract under § 72 SGB XI and approval for home nursing care under § 37 SGB V; listed in the Berlin state register of care providers.
  • Billed directly with your insurer: with all statutory health and nursing care insurers; privately insured clients receive an invoice for their insurer.
  • Accepting new patients: we respond the same working day.
  • We work with hospitals: we take over directly from hospital discharge management, coordinated with clinic, GP practice and insurer.
  • Three offices in Berlin: Sickingenstr. 52 (Moabit), Heilbronner Str. 1 (Halensee), Theodor-Heuss-Platz 1 (Westend).
  • German · English · Russian: care and consultation in your language.

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