Medical care - Thuringian hospital plan adopted despite uncertainties
Planning for the Thuringian Hospital Landscape's layout in the coming years has taken another step forward. The cabinet has now approved the eighth Thuringian Hospital Plan, as Health Minister Heike Werner (Left) stated. It is valid until the year 2030. "The hospitals now have the necessary clarity," said the Minister. This refers to guidelines for further planning.
The main message for patients is that the state intends to retain all locations in Thuringia and improve medical care, as Werner emphasized. In addition, a heart attack network is specified in the hospital plan. This is intended to contribute to better care for heart attack patients in the future.
Cooperation and Specialization
Considering the hospital reform of the Federal Government, Werner made it clear that clinics will have to focus more on cooperations, centralization, and specialization in the future. The background is that the reform provides for the introduction of medical performance groups at hospitals. Until now, planning was done in specialist areas.
In a report for the hospital plan, experts and experts came to the conclusion that about 2,900 of the approximately 14,600 hospital beds could be dismantled without significant impact on care security.
Uncertainties remain
Werner stressed that only with clarity about the Federal Hospital Reform can it be said exactly how the concrete further development of the clinics will look. Important numbers for the demand forecast have only become available recently and still need to be evaluated. The state has nevertheless decided to pass the hospital plan now and not, like other states, to wait any longer. It's about giving the institutions a time frame.
The Chairman of the Board of AOK Plus, Rainer Striebel, praised the planning. It sets the right priorities with a focus on treatment quality and specialization. "Not every hospital needs to be able to do everything."
The eighth Thuringian Hospital Plan, approved by the Government and spearheaded by Health Minister Heike Werner, will see hospitals in Thuringia catering to patients until 2030. This plan includes guidelines for better care, as the Minister highlighted, and even outlines a heart attack network for improved heart attack patient care.
As part of the hospital reform proposed by the Federal Government, Thuringian hospitals will need to adopt a focus on cooperations, centralization, and specialization, according to Minister Werner, given the introduction of medical performance groups.
Erfurt, a city in Thuringia, might see changes in its hospitals' bed count based on the hospital plan's recommendations, with experts suggesting that over 2,900 hospital beds could be reduced without affecting care security significantly.
Despite the overall approval of the hospital plan, Minister Werner acknowledged that uncertainties remain due to the need for a clear understanding of the Federal Hospital Reform and its implications for hospitals in Thuringia.
