Suche
Mein Konto
Harburg district council passes resolution: Future of the clinics secured!
The Harburg district council unanimously passed a resolution on hospital financing, calling for inflation compensation and reforms.
Harburg district council passes resolution: Future of the clinics secured!
A historic moment for hospital financing in the Harburg district! On Monday afternoon, November 11th, the Harburg district council unanimously passed a resolution in a special meeting that calls for urgently needed financial support for the two district-owned clinics in Winsen and Buchholz. This resolution is a direct response to the financial deficits caused by inflation resulting from Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and the necessary tariff increases. Numerous other districts have already made similar decisions to support their municipal hospitals.
The passage of this resolution was not without hurdles. The issue was originally supposed to be discussed on September 30th, but the Greens postponed it because they considered the vote to be too short-term. Despite the almost month and a half between meetings, the current text was only finalized shortly before the vote. The parties agreed on a joint draft, which was based on a template from the Lower Saxony district council, but was defused. An original passage that called for the country to contribute financially to the deficits was omitted from the final resolution.
The future of hospitals is in jeopardy
With the resolution, the Harburg district council is calling for a comprehensive reform of the hospital system in Germany that meets the needs of rural regions. The members of the district council emphasize that high-quality medical care in the clinics in the Harburg district must be permanently guaranteed. In addition, the Lower Saxony state government is calling on the Mediation Committee on the Hospital Care Improvement Act (KHVVG) if the inflation gap is not completely compensated for from 2022 to 2024.
Before the vote on the resolution could take place, an important formality had to be clarified: District council chairman Rudolf Meyer (CDU) stated that the rules of procedure require a majority of 80 percent of the members present to pass a resolution. Since only 51 of the 65 members were present, the required quorum was not reached. After a short break, the rules of procedure were changed so that the resolution was finally passed unanimously. Representatives of the clinics previously reported on the critical situation of the hospitals in the Harburg district, while delegations of the clinic staff followed the meeting.