In the debate about the hospital reform planned by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), the CEO of the Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital, Jens Scholz, spoke out in favor of a significant reduction in the number of clinic locations.
The CEO of the Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital, Jens Scholz, told the editorial network Germany (RND/Thursday) that 600 of the 1,900 clinics were excluded from the most recent emergency care reform because they did not have the appropriate equipment. Nevertheless, the supply of the population has not deteriorated. “That could be an indication of an appropriate clinic structure,” said Scholz.
There is “no alternative” to closing clinics because of the existing major personnel problems, according to the brother of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). However, in an international comparison, Germany takes a top position in terms of the number of nursing staff per inhabitant, emphasized Scholz. “So we have enough nurses, they’re just in the wrong place,” he warned.
Jens Scholz praised the plans of the government commission set up by Lauterbach for hospital reform in principle, but also criticized, for example, Lauterbach’s planned transitional period of five years: “I’m afraid we don’t have five years left,” he told RND. So the staffing problems were getting bigger and bigger. There was also a risk of further insolvencies due to the financial difficulties of the clinics. “In the process, we may lose clinics that we actually need,” warned the clinic manager.
