Neubrandenburg (dpa/mv) – Almost 250 people demonstrated in Neubrandenburg on Wednesday to secure the treatment of very small premature babies in the region. “In a flat state like MV, different criteria must apply than in conurbations like Hamburg or North Rhine-Westphalia,” said Mayor Jan Kuhnert (left) with a view to the decision by AOK Nordost (Berlin) that this treatment would no longer be available in Neubrandenburg from 2023 should give at the event.
On banners, the demonstrators called for the preservation of the perinatal ward, where newborns with a birth weight of less than 1250 grams are treated. According to AOK-Nordost, the number of treatments is too low to ensure the necessary quality, it said in the justification. Clinics in Schwerin and Rostock, as well as Greifswald for the time being, received a commitment for the treatment of such small premature babies.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Health Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD) and Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig had described the decision from Berlin as “wrong” and sharply criticized it. Drese explained that she would prevent the planned end of premature baby treatment in Neubrandenburg from 2023. The MV Ministry of Health is aiming for an exemption for the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Clinic in 2023. The demonstrators want to collect around 50,000 signatures so that the Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has to deal with the case.
