Lack of doctors in Brandenburg: 170 dentists are missing, is there any undersupply?

Lack of doctors in Brandenburg: 170 dentists are missing, is there any undersupply?

Brandenburg, Deutschland - In Brandenburg, health services face a serious challenge. The lack of dentists and general practitioners reaches alarming dimensions. According to Zwp-Online there are currently around 170 dentists, while there are about 320 seats in the general practitioners Location is lacking. These worrying figures come from a response from the Ministry of Health in Potsdam to a request from the members of the state parliament Daniela Oeynhausen (AfD).

In the end of 2024, especially in 21 cities, a general medical undersupply will be feared. This situation could also expand to specialists. The fact that 320 house doctor's seats in Brandenburg were vacant in the previous year is particularly explosive. In nine cities there is a threat of undersupply among dermatologists, in five in gynecologists and in several more in children's and neck-nose and throat doctors.

older doctors and bureaucratic hurdles

The average age of the approximately 1,270 contract dentists in Brandenburg is 53.9 years. A quarter of these doctors are even older than 60 years, and by 2030 it is estimated that around 470 dentists will retire. This alarming aging is reinforced by high bureaucratic requirements. Eberhard Steglich, CEO of the Brandenburg Association of Statutory Dentists, warns that a loss of 25% of dentists can be expected in the next five to ten years. The bureaucracy is cited as one of the main reasons for this development, whereby regulations for cleaning and sterilization of medical instruments as well as requirements for barrier -free practices make work more difficult, according to Jürgen Herbert, President of the State Dentistry Chamber.

Another problem is the lack of dental assistants, which still exacerates the situation. The fears that gaps in dental care could occur in the country, especially in the country, are already reality. In Cottbus, for example, new patients are no longer acceptable.

level of supply and rural challenges

In Brandenburg, there are large regional differences in the degree of supply of dentists. With 81.1%, the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark has the lowest density of dentists, while Frankfurt (Oder) is considered oversupply with 142.2%. These differences are a typical characteristic of rural health care. According to bpb.de , access to health services in rural areas is often severely restricted, which is often severely restricted, which is very limited to a low population density and long approach is due.

The challenges not only exist in the dental practices, but also with the general practitioners. Outpatient supply structures often concentrate in larger cities, which suffers rural regions. Here the residents often have a higher need for medical care and are faced with longer paths at the same time. Innovative care concepts such as telemedicine and mobile official providers could help close the existing gaps and to improve the accessible medical care.