Numerous doctors' surgeries in Germany remain closed
Numerous doctors' surgeries in Germany remained closed on Wednesday in protest against the health policy of Minister Karl Lauterbach. The Virchowbund medical association and other professional associations called for strikes between Christmas and New Year.
"We are giving our medical assistants time off during this period - as a thank you for their hard work and as compensation because they have not received a state corona bonus to date," the call for the "Practice in Need" campaign states.
Strikes took place on Wednesday in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Bremen, among other places, but also in smaller cities and in the countryside. Medicine is being "cut to the bone" and doctors' surgeries are being "bled dry", the professional associations accused politicians. However, the medical on-call service under the 116 117 number remains in place.
As the protest will be followed by the weekend and New Year's Day, the practices will not be allowed to reopen until January 2. The Patient Protection Foundation had criticized the timing of the planned strikes at the weekend and warned that this would affect the elderly and vulnerable in particular.
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The continued closures of medical practices in Germany are largely due to doctors' dissatisfaction with Minister Lauterbach's health policy. Numerous German doctors have expressed concern that the country's health system is being "cut to the bone" and its practices "bled dry," leading to numerous strikes across the country.
Source: www.ntv.de