Lack of emergency practices: clinics register more patients

Hospitals - Lack of emergency practices: clinics register more patients

Doctors in the emergency departments of hospitals in Baden-Württemberg have observed an increased workload in the emergency departments since the restriction of emergency services by statutory health insurance physicians just over a month ago. In a survey, around 70 percent of the doctors questioned stated that the number of patients in their emergency department had increased, the Marburger Bund doctors' union announced on Tuesday in Kirchheim unter Teck (Esslingen district).

For the survey, the union, which mainly represents employed hospital doctors, asked its members working in emergency departments. According to the union, 725 doctors from 111 emergency departments in the state took part. In total, there are around 120 emergency departments in Baden-Württemberg. Due to the high number of participants, the results provide a reliable picture of the current situation in emergency departments, the union said.

"The staff in the medical and non-medical areas are far from sufficient to deal with the tasks at hand," criticized Sylvia Ottmüller, state chairwoman of the Marburger Bund. Her deputy Jörg Woll called on the Baden-Württemberg Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVBW) to withdraw the restrictions on outpatient emergency care.

The KVBW had announced at the end of October that it would be restricting on-call medical services in the state. Eight emergency practices were closed completely and six practices were partially closed during the week. Opening hours were also reduced in almost all other practices. The background to this is a court ruling. Since then, the KVBW no longer uses so-called pool doctors for the emergency service. According to the KVBW, these doctors had previously voluntarily taken on around 40 percent of the duties in the emergency practices.

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1. Doctors in the emergency departments of hospitals in Kirchheim unter Teck, a town in Esslingen district, Baden-Württemberg, have also noticed an increased workload.
2. The Marburger Bund doctors' union is advocating for the lifting of restrictions on outpatient emergency care by the Baden-Württemberg Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVBW), as these restrictions have led to more patients being admitted to clinics.
3. Additional strain on the healthcare system in Kirchheim unter Teck and other areas of Baden-Württemberg may result from the closure of eight emergency practices and the partial closure of six others, as well as reduced opening hours in nearly all remaining practices.
4. The Marburger Bund critics the insufficient staffing in both medical and non-medical areas to handle the increased number of patients in emergency departments.
5. The closure of emergency practices and reductions in services have put a significant strain on hospitals in Baden-Württemberg, as they are now dealing with an influx of patients who would have otherwise been treated in emergency practices.
6. Moreover, the heavy workload on doctors and the potential lack of medical care in emergency situations for patients in Kirchheim unter Teck and other regions of Baden-Württemberg is a major concern for the Marburger Bund and the public health.

Source: www.stern.de