Emergency practices in danger: Medical deficiency threatens health care in the Zollernalbkreis

Emergency practices in danger: Medical deficiency threatens health care in the Zollernalbkreis

Albstadt, Deutschland - The discussion about the closure of the emergency practice in Albstadt attracts attention in the region. According to Ullrich Mohr, the chairman of the Zollernalb district doctor, this is regrettable for the patients who have to accept longer journey through the closure. The loss of this facility is primarily to be considered against the background of the long of the doctor and the personnel bottlenecks in the healthcare system.

The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) is forced to make this decision, since the lack of available doctors are already making the emergency practices maintaining. A previous regulation that allowed the use of so -called pool doctors were overridden by the Federal Social Court a year ago. As a result, the emergency practices are no longer available.

lack of doctors and its consequences

Mohr explains that the situation in the region is tense. The emergency medical service is one of the compulsory tasks of the resident doctors who have to do this in addition to their regular working hours. Doctors do not receive discharge from leisure time compensation, which further restricts the attractiveness of the profession.

A central problem is the lack of young doctors, especially in rural areas. Young doctors are often moving to the big cities, while rural areas such as the Zollernalbkreis suffer from an aging medical profession. More and more experienced doctors are retiring without enough successors.

The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians has so far made no significant progress in recruitment of new doctors. Despite repeated promises on the part of politics, the situation remains tense. Urgently needed solutions have not yet been realized, which could also become a serious problem with regard to the emergency practices.

The challenge of emergency care

In the Zollernalbkreis, doctors have to be closed when closing one of the two emergency practices in the district, Albstadt and Balingen, so that their services will hardly be relieved. Around 80 to 100 doctors are currently involved in the service, which means that every doctor has to do standby service about eight times a year. A closure could reduce this number to half, which would reduce the burden for the remaining doctors.

Mohr also points out that the closure of further practices may already be imminent, especially if the planned central clinic is opened in the circle. In this case, the question would be whether and how many emergency practices can be maintained by the municipalities. The economic risk of these facilities could then be an additional burden on the general public.

The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians remains limited in its role, since it only manages the distributed budget without directly offering solutions for the shortage of doctors. Critics see politics in responsibility not only to clarify financing issues, but also to ensure that basic medical care is guaranteed in all regions.

For further information and details on the challenges of the medical forgomotion and the closure of the emergency practices, we refer to the reporting of www.schwaebische.de .