MHH too dominant? For Minister Behrens, the hospitals in Hanover must work more closely together
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MHH too dominant? For Minister Behrens, the hospitals in Hanover must work more closely together
Hanover.In view of the rising costs in the health care system and the need for staff in the hospitals in Hanover, their cooperation is improving. Nowhere in Lower Saxony is there such a dense range of clinics as in Hanover, said State Minister of Health Daniela Behrens (SPD) at the presentation of the new hospital law for Lower Saxony. “But the ability to cooperate is still workable,” she emphasizes.
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“Better dovetailing outpatient and inpatient care”
Among other things, one obstacle on the way to better cooperation is the prominent position of the Hannover Medical School (MHH), says Behrens. “Other hospitals have the feeling of being crushed by the MHH,” says the minister. In any case, a new distribution of tasks among the clinics in Hanover is necessary. Organizing this is not the task of the ministry, but of the hospital operator, according to the ministry. The regional administration could initiate an electronic process. The new law has no direct impact on the clinics in the Hanover region.
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Prof. Volker Amelung from the MHH warns that outpatient and inpatient treatment should be more closely interlinked in the hospitals in Hanover. “We have to break old structures,” says Amelung, who deals with the future of the hospital landscape and advises the ministry. In an aging society, patients often had a whole series of illnesses at the same time, and the structure of the hospitals had to adjust accordingly.
Is Lehrte suitable as a regional health center?
One of the focal points of the new hospital law, which is to be passed by the state parliament this month, is the possibility of converting small hospitals into so-called regional health centers, especially in regional areas. The aim is to preserve the locations. This can be achieved through close cooperation with specialists and a close dovetailing of outpatient and inpatient care. Behrens did not want to comment on whether the controversial regional hospital in Lehrte is suitable as a health center. Behrens announced that the state would provide financial support for two or three model projects.
“Regional health centers are the alternative to closing small hospitals,” says the minister. In the coming years there will always be debates about individual clinics. Of the 169 clinics in Lower Saxony with a total of 40,000 beds, 30 to 40 hospitals are not viable in their current form, experts estimate. Added to this is the lack of young people: the smaller a hospital, the more difficult it becomes to attract young doctors and nurses.
Region President awaits proposals for cooperation
Steffen Krach (SPD), President of the Hanover region, which is responsible for the responsible hospitals, is expecting possible proposals for improved cooperation between the different providers in the months to come, as he said on Friday. Close cooperation between the different clinic operators certainly also plays a role in the consultations currently underway on a new medical strategy for the clinic, says Krach. He does not want to comment more specifically at the moment. Previous attempts to persuade the hospital authorities to cooperate more closely had come to nothing.
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The MHH is at the forefront of medical care in the Hanover region, and the Clinic of the Region Hanover (KRH) and the Protestant company Diakovere each operate several hospitals. There are also the children’s hospital on the Bult, the Vinzenz Hospital, the Clementinenhaus and the Sophienklink (all in Hanover) as well as the Paracelsus Klinik am Silbersee in Langenhagen.
By Mathias Klein