Clinics - District Administrator: There must be no "silent market adjustment"
The district administrator of Vorpommern-Rügen is calling for help for struggling hospitals. "We have to realize that we have no planning security whatsoever for the hospital landscape," Stefan Kerth told the German Press Agency. With regard to the hospitals' financing problems, he said that the healthcare system could not be saved by the districts. "The federal and state governments must sort things out so that no hospitals die."
At the meeting on Monday, the district council is to decide on the assumption of a guarantee for the municipally-run Bodden Clinic in Ribnitz-Damgarten amounting to 4.5 million euros. According to the motion, the conditions for financing the hospital have deteriorated considerably. This applies to all hospitals throughout Germany.
The reasons given are increased personnel and energy costs and insufficient refinancing via regionally adjusted flat rates per case. In addition, the treatment figures in Ribnitz-Damgarten are still nine percent lower compared to the pre-corona year 2019, resulting in a drop in revenue in the millions. "This is a phenomenon that is not unique to us," said Kerth. We can only speculate about the reasons.
He had the impression that the disappearance of one or the other house was being allowed to happen to some extent. There should not be a "silent market shakeout" of clinics. "In Vorpommern-Rügen, that is not an option." The network should not be thinned out any further, not least because of the many tourists who come to his district. Another motion for the upcoming district council is "Preservation of all hospital locations". Kerth said that they also wanted to send a signal to the state government.
It was only on Friday that the Schwerin state parliament called on the federal government to provide hospitals with more money on a temporary basis until the planned hospital reform comes into force. State Health Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD) stated the goal of maintaining all 37 locations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern had already made considerable structural changes in the past. Of the former 55 locations, 37 remain and the number of beds has been reduced from 19,000 to 10,000.
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- The district council in Ribnitz-Damgarten, located in the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, is considering providing a financial guarantee of 4.5 million euros for the municipally-run Bodden Clinic due to its financial struggles.
- Stefan Kerth, the district administrator of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern-Rügen, has expressed concern about the fiscal situation of clinics across Germany, including those in his own district, citing increased personnel and energy costs, insufficient refinancing, and lower treatment figures.
- In an effort to maintain all 37 hospital locations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the state parliament in Schwerin recently called on the federal government to provide hospitals with additional financial support until a planned hospital reform can be implemented.
- Stralsund, another city in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region, also has several hospitals that are facing financial challenges, and the district council there might need to consider similar measures to support their local healthcare facilities.
Source: www.stern.de
