Schwerin (dpa/mv) - The opposition in the Schwerin state parliament is urging the red-red state government to quickly implement the necessary reforms to secure the hospital landscape in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The state parliament's commission of inquiry on the future of medical care, which presented its final report last year, had done good preliminary work. "The proposals are on the table," said CDU MP Katy Hoffmeister on Friday in the state parliament when she submitted her application.
"There is no problem of knowledge, but a problem of action," emphasized Green Party leader Harald Terpe. However, both conceded that in order to ensure local, high-quality medical care in rural areas, fundamental changes in federal legislation would be necessary. Speakers from other groups made similar statements.
The closure of the children's ward in Parchim and the end of the maternity ward in Crivitz as well as the care of particularly small premature babies in Neubrandenburg had revived the debate about maintaining the clinic's offerings. At their annual conference in Sellin on Rügen at the end of October, the hospital directors referred to increasing difficulties in patient care in the north-east. In addition to cost factors, they named a lack of staff.
Minister of Health Stefanie Drese (SPD) admitted that the healthcare system was facing major challenges. The federal government reacted to the threat of further thinning out of medical care for children by providing additional funds. For the state government, the development of a concept for securing obstetrics and child and youth medicine in the state has priority. "The developments of the last few weeks and months have shown that the subject of obstetrics and pediatrics (pediatrics) is a good choice because it is particularly pressing," said Drese.
The country itself must help develop concepts for good medical care in the area. "Innovative supply impulses must emanate from sparsely populated, large-area countries if development is not to ignore the realities and needs of rural regions," said Drese. As an example, she cited the determination of minimum quantities for certain interventions, which led to restrictions in care and in specialist training.
