Neubrandenburg (dpa/mv) - More than 100,000 people signed a petition to maintain "extreme preterm care" at the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Clinic in Neubrandenburg before it was completed. Because more than the required 50,000 signatures were reached, the Petitions Committee of the Bundestag had to hear the submitter at a public meeting, the clinic said on Wednesday.
The petition is intended to ensure that the treatment of very small premature babies with a birth weight of less than 1250 grams in Neubrandenburg - contrary to previous instructions from the health insurance companies - can continue in 2023 and that minimum quantities are replaced by quality measures. The country had spoken out in favor of a one-year exemption, but was unable to enforce it.
"The chance that the minimum amounts for medical services will be abolished is not great, but at least politicians are forced to deal with the topic again," the hospital said. More than 108,000 signatures were counted - in equal parts online on the committee's website and on collection lists that the clinic received. The committee examines and treats the petition regardless of the number of signatures.
It could take a few days before the final number of signatures can be seen on the Petitions Committee's website, since the votes submitted on paper lists first have to be counted. According to a clinic spokeswoman, it is also about lists that were sent directly to the committee. Now the numbers would also be checked for any duplication and adjusted.
Ten premature babies weighing less than 1,250 grams were treated at the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Clinic until shortly before the turn of the year in 2022. According to the "minimum quantity regulation" it should be 20 or more per year. Those affected would have to switch to Berlin, Greifswald, Rostock or Schwerin from 2023.
