Shock for Backnang: Emergency practice closes - who is to blame?

Shock for Backnang: Emergency practice closes - who is to blame?

Schorndorf, Deutschland - The closure of the emergency practice in Backnang causes a sensation in the region. At the end of June, the facility in the health center on Stuttgarter Straße will close and thus further tighten the already tense health care in the Rems-Murr district. The decision is not from heaven, but is the result of a complex discussion about the state of health care, which is dictated in particular by the lack of available doctors for on -call services. But who is responsible for this debacle? ZVW The district are called.

A uniform picture is not emerging. Jens Steinat, the doctor's spokesman, justifies the closings as necessary to ensure efficient emergency care. The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians plans to concentrate the medical service on the Winnenden location. An existing practice is to be expanded there, but this will take - about 1.5 years. In the meantime, it remains unclear where the patients should stay, because currently 40 household seats are vacant in the Rems-Murr district, which makes the situation even more precarious. BKZ emphasizes that the closure of the Backnang emergency practice together with the already closed Schorndorf practice is only one more mosaic piece in the already difficult care situation.

Against the background of the pandemic, many questions about health care have arisen. Topics such as the shortage of skilled workers and demographic change have received additional dimensions. Herder indicates the challenges that strongly stress the health system in Germany. So there is a lack of sufficient supply, especially in rural areas, which only reinforces the closures of emergency practices.

The criticism of the decision to close is diverse. Backnang's mayor Maximilian Friedrich and District Administrator Richard Sigel express their concerns that there is an insufficient offer for around 433,000 people with just an emergency practice. Friedrich refers to emergency practice as a compromise after the local clinic was closed, while Sigel calls for more data to make the decision understandable. Clinic Managing Director André Mertel even fears that the closures will lead to an increase in patient numbers in the emergency room.

With the planned compression of medical care and focus on digitization, for example through telemedicine, there are efforts to improve the situation. But it remains to be seen whether these measures can take the pressure from the existing emergency structures in good time. The ball is now in the hands of those responsible-the time is urged, because the people in the Rems-Murr district need reliable medical care.