Read for free until 10:03 a.m.
‘Disaster condition’: More babies, but fewer hospital beds in MV
Rostock. Dramatic development in medical care for the youngest in MV: The number of hospital beds for children and young adults has decreased dramatically. Experts are sounding the alarm: Children shouldn’t be considered just a cost factor.
Read more after the announcement
Read more after the announcement
The number of hospital beds for children and young adults in the northeast has fallen by about 15 percent since 2010: from 828 to 704 – this is how the Federal Statistical Office responded to a question from Bundestag Dietmar Bartsch (left). The figures include all pediatric departments in 36 hospitals. This is despite the fact that there was a 7% increase in the number of children under 18 across the country in the same period, currently around 230,000.
Doctor: “Pediatrics can’t be planned.”
Hagen Strasberger, pediatrician from Rostock
© Source: Ove Arscholl
Read more after the announcement
Read more after the announcement
“This is a disastrous condition,” says Rostock pediatrician Hagen Strasberger, the professional association of MVP pediatricians. The reason and the error lies in the financing system. Hospital services have been billed at constant state rates for approximately 15 years. The clinic pays only for the treatment of pneumonia; Even if she had previously examined patients in many other directions. With children, clear identification is difficult, and the diagnosis is often complex. ‘Pediatrics can not be planned.’
Pediatric wards in 17 clinics
about 15 percent The number of hospital beds for children decreased between 2010 and 2020: from 828 to 704. The number of children under the age of 18 increased from 210,476 to 230,498 in the same period. Hospitals decreased: from 50,581 in 2010 to 38,067 in 2020.
16 of 37 hospitals Nationwide there are specialized sections for children. These are: Sana Bergen and Wismar, Demin, University of Medicine in Greifswald, KMG Güstrow, Hägenau, Carlsberg, Neubrandenburg, Asklepius Parchem and Paswick, University of Medicine Rostock, Klinikum Südstadt Rostock, Helius Schwerin and Stralsund, Amos Oekermund War/Ann.
Sources: Federal Statistical Office / Ministry of Health MV
Steady case rates would have also led to ‘outpatient treatment’. This means that diseases are increasingly not being treated on the ward. This reduces the length of stay in clinics in general. The result: a smaller family. This was confirmed by Uwe Borchmann, MV Hospital Society. The need for inpatient care decreased. “We can simply treat more on an outpatient basis.”
Also read our writer’s comment: It can’t just be about money
Pediatrician Straßburger sees significant risks in this. Those who suffer are children with the most serious diseases. Congenital heart defects are no longer treated with MV because of the lack of capacitance. In addition, there is a shortage of young doctors. Strasbourg’s wish: The state government should provide more financial support for pediatrics. They belong to the system of fixed prices for each case. Clinics will have to save.
Read also
Read more after the announcement
Read more after the announcement
Politician Bartsch explains that “medical care for children should no longer be off the radar.” Nationwide, the number of hospital beds has been reduced. A fatal mistake in health policy. Bartsch takes Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) to task, calling for increased staffing requirements and better pay for nursing staff. “We have new proposals for how to fund pediatrics outside of the fixed payments system,” Lauterbach just explained in Rostock. He did not explain how.
The Ministry: The fixed-price system is not suitable for pediatrics
The Ministry of Health in Schwerin emphasizes reducing the number of pediatric beds nationwide. A spokesman for Aleksandar Kogat said the pediatric fixed-case rate system was “insufficient and needs to be revised”. MV took a step in the Federal Council. Staff shortage is also a big problem. Improvements in Medicare must be advised by a panel of experts starting in August. Pediatrics has a “special meaning”.
Written by Frank Bobantz