Medical practices in Northern Saxony: Patients fight for accessibility!

Medical practices in Northern Saxony: Patients fight for accessibility!

Medical care in northern Saxony is in jeopardy. A recent survey shows that patients in the region are dissatisfied with the accessibility of doctor's offices. Only 15% of respondents from northern Saxony can easily get to their doctor's office without a car, while in the federal state it is at least 31%. This fuels fears that older people and those with limited mobility in particular will not be able to receive the medical care they need. According to [lvz.de]. perceived, which represents an alarming sum.

However, there is a ray of hope: Despite the difficulties, 68% of people in Northern Saxony are “somewhat” or “very” satisfied with their primary care, which is just above the national average of 65%. Nevertheless, satisfaction with specialist medical care is alarmingly low: only 17% of northern Saxons expressed their approval, while 32% in the federal government are satisfied. The shortage of specialists, particularly in the areas of ophthalmology, dermatology and orthopedics, reflects the challenges in rural healthcare across Germany.

Report on the specialist situation

The survey suggests that the specialist medical landscape in Northern Saxony needs to be significantly improved. 67% of those surveyed find the problem of admitting new patients to general practitioners to be serious, while this proportion is as high as 71% for specialists. In comparison to the federal government, where the values ​​are 60% and 66% respectively, the extent of the challenge becomes clear here. Rural regions are particularly affected by the current situation of specialists, which further limits patient mobility. This problem is also confirmed by the experts at bpb, who address the challenges of public services in rural areas.

In addition, a third of respondents do not believe they will receive good care if they become ill, and only 44% believe emergency care is quick enough. These are worrying figures that point to a great need for reform. This is especially true in rural areas, where medical and nursing care is often limited and new, innovative approaches are necessary to strengthen public services.

A look into the future

However, in a conversation with family doctor Sven Thielemann, a glimmer of hope becomes apparent. He is recording positive developments due to the increased number of training assistants in the region. In the long term, this could help to improve medical care in Northern Saxony. The old district of Torgau currently has a coverage rate of 67.1% and 14.5 open family doctor positions, which makes improving the situation particularly urgent.

As the survey shows, many respondents would like fewer hurdles for the electronic health record (ePA) and support the idea of ​​health insurance companies more rewarding a healthy lifestyle. 76% of respondents support lower barriers to assisted dying, a sensitive issue that concerns many people, and 57% are in favor of automatic organ donation after death. It remains to be seen how politically these issues will be responded to in order to sustainably improve the situation in Northern Saxony.

The challenges in rural healthcare are not unique to Northern Saxony. Many rural communities in Germany face similar problems. Innovative concepts such as telemedicine and digital networking can help improve medical care and create a more responsive healthcare infrastructure. This is all the more important as the aging population in rural areas is exposed to an increasingly higher burden of disease that cannot be managed without adequate care.