Merbilter crisis: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania demands solutions!
Merbilter crisis: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania demands solutions!
Schwerin, Deutschland - What's in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania? The situation in obstetrics is becoming increasingly critical, and this ensures mixed feelings in the population. According to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the number of obstetric departments in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has practically halved since 1991. At that time there were still 30 hospitals that offered delivery, while in 2001 there were only 22 left. Currently, only 15 institutions nationwide offer the possibility of birth. This development is closely related to the decline in birth rate, which has dropped by a whopping 26 percent from 2018 to 2023. In 2023, just around 9,360 births were registered, which considerably burdens the economic and organizational situation in the clinics concerned.
The threshold for an economically sustainable obstetrics at 600 delivery per year lies. However, almost half of the 15 remaining locations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania recorded less in 2023 than this number. Henning Kutzbach, State Managing Director of the Barmer in MV, recently commented on the declining birth rate and its consequences for the region. The State Council of Women does not consider the problem to be unnoticed either: they demand a comprehensive concept that guarantees quality -assured and near -home care for pregnancy and birth. At the beginning of 2024 the target picture "Obstetrics and Pediatrics 2030" was already determined to counter the challenges.Reform measures in obstetrics
But what specifically is the government plans? The Minister of Health Stefanie Drese (SPD) clearly outlined the first reform goal. According to the explanations on NDR in the future there will be no longer any long-term guarantees for birth stations. The creation of medical centers for various services and the expansion of outpatient offers in the hospitals is one of the suggestions to counter the misery.
In addition, telemedicine is increasingly being brought into focus: specialists, including pediatricians, will keep consultation hours in general practices in the future. Some of these ideas are already used in model projects to put their practical suitability to the test.
The challenges for expectant mothers
A central concern of the new measures is to ensure good and accessible structures in obstetrics and pediatrics. The average journey to the clinic is currently 27 minutes, with the next clinic available within 40 minutes in 90 percent of the regions. In rural regions such as the Mecklenburg Lake District, however, this is a significant challenge. Here you think about central boarding houses in which pregnant women could be accommodated before childbirth.
In this course of the course, an expert commission was also founded to develop concepts for future health care. In addition to representatives of the Ministry of Health, this will also include members from the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians and the State Hospital Society. The background is the numerous closures of birth and children's stations that are not only economically motivated, but also arouse resentment among the population. The closure of obstetrics in the Criße Hall of Crivitz 2019 was protested and illustrates the tense conditions.
With the new reform approaches and the commitment of various actors, the state government hopes to correctly set the course for future-proof obstetrics in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. How the plans will arrive in practice remains to be seen.
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| Ort | Schwerin, Deutschland |
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