Sepp Müller (CDU)/image alliance, Flashpic, Jens Krick
Magdeburg/Berlin The deputy of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Sepp Müller, accused the Minister of Health of Saxony-Anhalt, Petra Grimm-Benne (SPD), of being too hesitant in reorganizing the hospital landscape.
The state report showed more than a year ago that we have a surplus of 2,000 to 4,000 hospital beds in Saxony-Anhalt. Health Minister Petra Grimm-Benne has been completely inactive here. She has to bear the accusation that she did not follow through and said more than she acted, said the Bundestag member from Wittenberg.
There are currently 44 hospitals with 53 locations in Saxony-Anhalt. Last year, a report was presented on the future of the hospital scenario, commissioned by the state government. Experts recommend organizing basic care closer to home and concentrating more serious cases in large hospitals.
Grimm-Benne rejected the accusations. In Saxony-Anhalt, bed planning has no longer been carried out since 2005, these are shown for informational purposes only, said the SPD politician. As companies operating independently, hospitals themselves decide the number of beds available. Since the report was completed, several hospitals have reportedly dismantled beds.
The Minister of Health has always postponed major changes in the hospital scenario, citing federal reform plans. However, there is by no means a standstill at this time, Grimm-Benne said. Many processes involving the hospital have already been initiated to prepare the hospitals for renovation. Various collaborations and coordinated priorities between hospitals are being prepared or implemented.
But Müller sees more deficits. As countries do not provide sufficient investment resources, hospitals have to take excess case costs and cross-subsidize their investment. Instead of becoming very active here, Grimm-Benne waited for an expert opinion and valuable time was lost again.
It is up to the minister to present hospital planning to the state parliament. And it is an obligation of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, like all 15 other federal states, to pay 100 percent for investments in its hospital landscape. And they don’t.
German medical magazine print
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The vice-president of the Union parliamentary group also criticized the actions of the federal government formed by SPD, Greens and FDP. There will be a cold structural adjustment, hospitals will disappear from the market if there is no additional financial support before hospital reform, Müller said.
I fear that exactly the wrong clinics will disappear – those in rural areas where we urgently need to provide care. This is why we reject the plans as a Union. © dpa/aerzteblatt.de