Dilapidated, expensive, uneconomical? With a hospital reform, the federal and state governments want to prevent the collapse of hospital care. The way to the nearest hospital is not that important, says the new head of the health ministers.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – According to the new chairman of the conference of health ministers, Manne Lucha, the distance to the nearest hospital is not decisive for good treatment. “It is not the distance that is decisive for hospital treatment, but the quality and the human resources to implement this quality,” said the Baden-Württemberg Minister of Health (Greens) of the German Press Agency in Stuttgart.
The number of hospitals in the southwest has been falling for many years. In 1990 there were 317, in 2021 there were just 246 houses. In the district of Lörrach, for example, four locations are being combined into one large central clinic. With a view to the hospital reform and the situation in Baden-Württemberg, Lucha said: “We are already the country with the lowest bed density. That will continue to be concentrated.” In 2020, Baden-Württemberg had a density of 488 beds per 100,000 inhabitants (national average 2020: 587).
Lucha said it’s about the right offer in the right place. “The romantic notion that a small, cute hospital ensures quantitative and qualitative basic care across the board is a romantic myth,” he said. “For qualified hospital care, you need a wide range of disciplines, size, staff, and also an income that pays for good medical and nursing performance.”
According to the will of the federal and state governments, the hospital landscape in Germany is to be fundamentally redesigned. Both sides want to work on a major hospital reform in the coming months, and a first draft law is to be presented by the summer break. A commission of experts had suggested that clinics should in future receive less money based on the number of cases treated. Instead, the provision of beds, staff and certain services should be rewarded more. This should take economic pressure off the houses. In addition, greater specialization of the clinics is planned.
The Baden-Württemberg Hospital Society (BWKG) warned against making the size of a hospital the decisive criterion. “The thesis “Big is good”, which apparently underlies the expert commission’s proposals, seems to me to be a bit simple,” said BWKG chairman Heiner Scheffold. “Giant hospitals” do not lead to good medical care per se and require massive investments. “Hospital planning must focus on people’s need to achieve the necessary and high-quality hospital services in a reasonable time,” said Scheffold. “I haven’t had enough of that in the proposals so far.”
Criticism also came from the SPD: “For me, the quality of hospital care also includes accessibility,” said the health policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Florian Wahl. In emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes and serious accidents, it is very important that ambulances and emergency doctors arrive promptly. It is also not reasonable to drive significantly more than 30 minutes because of standard treatments. “And the way to the next delivery room shouldn’t be any further either,” said Wahl.
Lucha is chairing the Conference of Health Ministers (GMK) this year. The respective ministers of the federal states meet there for an exchange. The first digital meeting took place on Monday. The ministers’ agenda included the hospital reform, the EU Medical Devices Regulation and needs planning in the field of paediatricians.
There is a great deal of agreement regarding the hospital reform, said Lucha after the switch on Monday evening in Stuttgart. “The schedule is set.” Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also assured the federal states at the meeting that he would soon make proposals for harmonizing the remaining corona measures.
The state health ministers also insisted on simpler certification procedures for medical devices in the EU. There are already bottlenecks in medicine that is rarely used, Lucha criticized after the switch. “The certification process for medical devices in the EU is still too lengthy, time-consuming and expensive. And that endangers people’s care,” said Lucha. It is mainly about niche products that are manufactured in smaller quantities and used for special target groups – such as cardiac catheters for babies, said Lucha. Financial incentives are needed for these niche products so that the clinical process is secured for the providers. According to Lucha, the federal government urgently needs to increase the pressure on Brussels so that the EU improves the framework conditions for niche products.
