Huge blow for Elbe-Elster: District council rejects clinic proposal!

Huge blow for Elbe-Elster: District council rejects clinic proposal!

The current situation at the Elbe-Elster Clinic is causing a lot of conversation in the region. On Monday evening, a vote took place in the Elbe-Elster district council on an important resolution proposed by the Free Voters, but it was rejected by a narrow majority. While 26 MPs voted against the bill, 22 supported the initiative and two abstained. The vote took place in Falkenberg, where almost 100 hospital employees followed the meeting live. The works council had mobilized the workforce to make their voices heard, but the efforts were in vain. Solveig Brombeer-Barig, chairwoman of the works council, described the rejection as a “huge slap in the face”, underlining the employees’ concerns.

The background to this decision is the decision made six weeks ago on the “3+1” solution, which envisages a central new building for the clinic. The future location is currently being intensively discussed in Doberlug-Kirchhain. The existing clinics in Herzberg, Elsterwerda and Finsterwalde are to be converted into health centers that focus on emergency basic care and, above all, outpatient treatment. This restructuring represents a profound change in the district's healthcare system and is part of the planned hospital reform, which is to be implemented with the help of the transformation fund despite many financing challenges. Clinic managing director Michael Winkler confirmed that preparations for the new building are already underway, with the documents having to be submitted by August 30th.

Hospital reform in focus

Christian Jaschinski, the district administrator of the Elbe-Elster district, presents the future plans to modernize the clinic together with the clinic's managing director Michael Neugebauer. The aim is to create needs-based solutions that promote the trust of citizens and ensure regional health care. Every year, around 40,000 patients receive inpatient and outpatient care at the Elbe-Elster Clinic; a total of 454 beds and around 1,000 employees work at the three locations in Finsterwalde, Elsterwerda and Herzberg. These figures illustrate the importance of the clinic for the region and make it clear why the current changes give rise to both fears and hopes.

The “3+1 strategy” is intended to strengthen acute care and lead to higher staffing requirements in the medium term, which could also create new jobs. In addition to internal communication with employees, the works council and political actors, information events are also planned. A community health conference has already taken place at the Philipp-Melanchthon-Gymnasium in Herzberg, which contributes to transparency and exchange about the upcoming steps.

Broad support for change

Ursula Nonnemacher, Minister of Health, praises the district's initiative as courageous and important for regional health care. A report by the Bayreuth consulting firm Oberender is currently shedding light on the effects of the reform as well as the economic consequences of the corona pandemic, the shortage of skilled workers and demographic changes. Jan Hacker, CEO of the company, emphasizes the need to quickly develop a sustainable concept for the Elbe-Elster Clinic.

On the political stage, the exchange between the various actors in the healthcare sector is crucial. The challenges are well known: uncertainty and fears among the population require transparent communication. The Ministry of Health is committed to providing comprehensive information so that people in the region can adapt to the changes. A dialogue between all those involved is essential in order to successfully shape long-term change.