personality lack - SPD calls for more support from the state for UKSH
Schleswig-Holstein's SPD faction is demanding more support from the state government for the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH). The hospital association diagnosed a chronic shortage of specialized staff, stated SPD faction chair Serpil Midyatli. To counteract this, the black-green government must turn several screws at various levels.
"The personnel requirement can only be met through foreign specialized staff," emphasized the faction chair. Therefore, she advocated for a targeted approach to recruiting qualified personnel through a campaign from the state. In addition, there should be bureaucratic simplifications in the recognition of degrees obtained abroad and a speeding up of procedures.
Moreover, offers of specifically tailored language and integration courses for healthcare professionals should be improved. Lastly, the state government, according to Midyatli, should ensure competitive working conditions to bind specialized staff permanently to the UKSH.
Patient welfare first
According to statements from the Social Democrat, the UKSH plays a central role in healthcare provision in the north. As the largest hospital in Schleswig-Holstein, it offers a range of highly specialized medical services and ensures top-notch care for patients daily.
However, the number of emergency cases and emergency surgeries has increased significantly in recent months and years. "This has natural consequences for the work environment," said Midyatli. The state government must prioritize patient welfare above all else - especially regarding the personnel situation, it bears responsibility.
Criticism from the Medical Chamber on personnel situation
Recently, the president of the Medical Chamber, Henrik Herrmann, criticized in the "Kieler Nachrichten" that anesthesiologists sometimes perform nursing tasks in UKSH operating rooms. The high solidarity of doctors towards nursing personnel is fundamentally to be welcomed, he told the paper. "Doctors assuming nursing tasks in a crisis situation is a beautiful sign of teamwork in the interest of patients." However, this should not become a permanent situation for anesthesiologists.
Doctors are there to perform medical tasks – through excessive workload and bureaucracy, they are already overburdened. The time spent on tasks in nursing is also lacking in medical training. Herrmann warned of potential further problems if universities hospitals, as part of the hospital reform, take on more tasks that other clinics no longer offer. An approach could be to improve working conditions in nursing.
- Serpil Midyatli, the SPD faction chair, believes that the health system at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) is struggling with a chronic shortage of specialized staff.
- To address this issue, Midyatli suggests a state-led campaign to recruit qualified foreign personnel, simplify recognition of foreign degrees, and improve language and integration courses for healthcare professionals.
- Midyatli also advocates for competitive working conditions to keep specialized staff at the UKSH, stating that patient welfare should be prioritized, especially in light of the increasing number of emergency cases and surgeries.
- Henrik Herrmann, president of the Medical Chamber, recently criticized the overburdening of doctors performing nursing tasks in UKSH operating rooms, especially in crisis situations.
- Herrmann acknowledges the teamwork between doctors and nursing personnel but warns against making this a permanent situation, as the additional workload and lack of medical training time could lead to further problems in the health system.
- midyatli and Herrmann both agree that improving working conditions in nursing could be an effective solution to alleviate the pressures on both medical and nursing staff within the health system.
