Health Minister Kerstin von der Decken (CDU) presented the plans on Wednesday in Kiel. The goal is a more targeted organization of care, she explained. The nationwide hospital reform is forcing states to assign specific service groups to clinics in the future – depending on staff, equipment, and case numbers. The Medical Service is currently reviewing the hospitals’ applications; by the end of the year, it should be clear who may offer which procedures.
The six healthcare regions are based not only on administrative boundaries but also on actual patient flows. The South-West region, for example, includes the districts of Pinneberg and Steinburg as well as Norderstedt; the Itzehoe Hospital serves as the central anchor there. At the district level, basic and emergency care such as internal medicine or geriatrics must be accessible close to home. At the regional level, specialized services such as obstetrics or pediatrics must be available at least once.
Von der Decken emphasized that basic and emergency care must remain guaranteed everywhere in the state. For planned special procedures such as an artificial knee joint, longer travel distances are acceptable – according to patient data, people are willing to accept that. She expects difficult decisions especially in the Kiel and Neumünster area, where there is partly an oversupply. The special features of Schleswig-Holstein with its islands, halligen, and wide areas are to be taken into account during implementation.
Patrick Reimund from the Hospital Association welcomed the reform as fundamentally necessary. Henrik Herrmann, President of the Medical Chamber, warned, however, that the assignment of service groups could complicate medical training. FDP state parliament member Heiner Garg called for comprehensible perspectives for the locations and sufficient time for implementation.
Source: www.ndr.de
