IN A pretty six-storey building in Bad Laer, a small town in Lower Saxony, Jina Reye spends seven hours a day washing dirty hands, spooning food into mouths and soothing tempers. Ms Reye is not dealing with tricky toddlers. She looks after people with advanced dementia, who she says “go back to being like a child”. Some are reluctant to follow instructions; others respond aggressively. There is roughly one staff member for every two patients, but Ms Reye says that is not enough.