Kiel. The Hospital Care Improvement Act is only supported by the SPD in the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament. All other parties consider the law a failure.
This was demonstrated in a discussion on Friday in the state parliament, after state Health Minister Kerstin von der Decken (CDU) presented an FDP proposal to implement the reform. The acting president of the conference of health ministers of the federal states criticized, among other things, the fact that the declaration previously unanimously agreed by the states had not been taken into account in the bill.
His party colleague Hauke Hansen, the parliamentary group’s health policy spokesman, used harsher words. “Senseless, with your head against the wall”, was how he described the approach of the federal Minister of Health. He doubted that the law could contribute to guaranteeing the quality of treatment, guaranteeing comprehensive care or reducing bureaucracy.
“Lauterbach tells a story”
Dr. Heiner Garg (FDP) criticized Lauterbach’s (SPD) communication. This tells “a story” about the defensive attitude of the federal states. Garg, on the other hand, is sure that most states would be prepared to reorganize the hospital landscape. relocating a hospital to a different care facility can still lead to an improvement in care.
Birte Pauls, SPD health policy spokesperson, tried to defend the reform. “It is good that Karl Lauterbach has addressed the issue, which had already been left behind for a long time under CDU ministers,” said Pauls. In this context, she recalled the impasse in hospital investments for which states are responsible. According to Pauls, the difference in Holstein is “at least 800 million euros”. (di)