Health care - Crivitz Maternity Clinic struck from state hospital plan
The maternity ward at the hospital in Crivitz (Ludwigslust-Parchim district), which was closed in 2019 despite protests from the population, was removed from the state hospital plan on Monday. With this, the closure was officially sealed. According to the Schwerin Health Ministry, the so-called planning participants decided to remove the beds from the Gynecology/Obstetrics department and use them for geriatric care instead.
Geriatrics is the medicine for the elderly. According to forecasts, the number of births in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is expected to continue to decline. At the same time, the number of elderly people in the region is growing.
The hospital belongs to the district
The small district hospital in Crivitz used to belong to the Mediclin Concern and was taken over by the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in 2021. The Health Ministry noted that the three hospitals in Crivitz, Ludwigslust, and Hagenow, which have been merged into the "LUP-Clinics," are specialized. The obstetrics department is located in Hagenow.
Health Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD) said, "The LUP-Clinics are a positive example of how hospitals in rural areas can organize themselves to keep all clinic locations and further develop care, despite necessary and sometimes painful changes." The hospital consortium has model character for the upcoming hospital reform in rural areas.
The Crivitz hospital, located within the Ludwigslust-Parchim District in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, was previously managed by Mediclin Concern but was taken over by the district in 2021. Despite the closure of the maternity ward in 2019, the Health Ministry aims to utilize the Gynecology/Obstetrics department's beds for geriatric care in the future. The BMG (Federal Ministry of Health) is closely monitoring the development of healthcare services in the district, especially in light of the growing elderly population and declining birth rates in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
