1.176 million euros for Laufer Obstetrics: Future of delivery rooms secured!

1.176 million euros for Laufer Obstetrics: Future of delivery rooms secured!

The obstetrics ward in the Laufer Hospital will receive financial support of 1.176 million euros to cover the deficits in obstetric care. This decision was made unanimously by the district council groups, as District Administrator Armin Kroder emphasizes. The symbolic check presentation took place in the hospital delivery room. This support is intended to keep the facility's technical and personnel equipment up to date, which is particularly important in times of economic challenges for many smaller birthing centers in Germany, which are under pressure and some of which have been closed or are about to close. An example of this is the Roth district clinic, which will stop providing obstetric care at the end of October 2023 due to a lack of attending physicians. Loud n-land.de An increasing number of over 250 babies have already been recorded in 2023, with a forecast of more than 600 by the end of December.

The financial challenges are not new. The sectoral decline in obstetrics is evident in many clinics in Germany. Combined with a persistent shortage of skilled workers, closures of maternity clinics are leading to a worrying undersupply, particularly in rural regions. The Medical Journal reports that between 1991 and today the number of obstetric departments in Germany has fallen from 1,186 to around 600. In metropolitan areas, on the other hand, there is an oversupply of clinics, while rural areas are severely underserved.

Challenges of obstetrics

Obstetrics wards are often financed through flat-rate amounts from health insurance companies and private patients, which are independent of the complexity and effort involved. This regulation means that many smaller clinics that only record a limited number of births per year are facing economic difficulties. In the future, clinics that care for fewer than 1,000 births annually should only be retained in structurally weak regions in order to improve the care structure.

In addition, the federal government is planning measures to support clinics that are in financial difficulties and to combat the shortage of skilled workers by centralizing obstetric care. This also refers to the current one Hospital Care Relief Act pointed out, which provides 240 million euros to the federal states for obstetric care.

The future of obstetrics

The current shortage of skilled workers in obstetrics is seen as increasingly problematic. Many maternity hospitals report difficulties in recruiting sufficiently qualified staff. According to the DGGG, clinics should ensure a minimum level of staff and technical equipment, which also includes specialists being on call 24 hours a day. In this context, financial support for the Lauf obstetric unit is a step in the right direction to ensure the quality of obstetric care and meet the needs of expectant parents.

For the future, it is essential to develop forward-looking strategies in order to put obstetric care in Germany on a secure foundation and to overcome the existing challenges. The Laufer delivery room could serve as an example of effective cooperation between the district and the Free State in order to actively address the challenges of obstetric care.